Current applications of nanomaterials in urinary system tumors.

The development of nanotechnology and nanomaterials has provided insights into the treatment of urinary system tumors. Nanoparticles can be used as sensitizers or carriers to transport drugs. Some nanoparticles have intrinsic therapeutic effects on tumor cells. Poor patient prognosis and highly drug-resistant malignant urinary tumors are worrisome to clinicians. The application of nanomaterials and the associated technology against urinary system tumors offers the possibility of improving treatment. At present, many achievements have been made in the application of nanomaterials against urinary system tumors. This review summarizes the latest research on nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary system tumors and provides novel ideas for future research on nanotechnologies in this field.

Novel insights into biomarkers associated with renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common form of cancer of the urinary tract. The present study aimed to identify driver genes in RCC using a bioinformatics approach. GSE53757 and GSE40435 microarray data were analyzed, and differentially expressed genes were filtered prior to gene ontology (GO) and pathway analysis. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established. Overall survival and recurrence were investigated and based on data presented in cBioPortal. The COPS7B gene within the PPI network was selected for further study in vitro. The present study identified 174 and 149 genes possessing a significant signal to noise ratio in GSE53757 and GSE40435, respectively. In total, 53 of these genes were selected based upon inclusion in both datasets. GO analysis indicated that PRKCDBP, EHD2, KCNJ10, ATP1A1, KCNJ1 and EHD2 may be involved in various biological processes. Furthermore, ALDH6A1, LDHA, SUCLG1 and ABAT may be involved in the propanoate metabolism pathway. A network consisting of 106 genes, and one typical cluster were constructed. In addition, COPS7B was selected, as it was associated with decreased overall survival and increased recurrence rates, in order to elucidate its function in RCC. Furthermore, upregulation of COPS7B was demonstrated to be predictive of advanced stage disease and metastasis of RCC. Finally, COPS7B-knockdown inhibited RCC cell proliferation and invasion ability. Collectively, these results provided novel insights into COPS7B function, indicating that COPS7B may serve as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target in RCC.

Identification of CDK2 as a novel target in treatment of prostate cancer.

AIM: This study aims the potential gene involved in the metastasis of prostate cancer (Pca). METHODS: PubMed GEO datasets (GSE6605 and GSE6606) were downloaded. We used multiple bioinformatics methods to screen differentially expressed genes in Pca. Gene network was built by STRING and visualized by Cytoscape. All of the hub genes were analyzed by cBioPortal. Inhibition of CDK2 including siRNA, inhibitor and cas9-induced CDK2 knockout was followed by an invasion assay. Downstream genes of CDK2 were analyzed by western blot. RESULTS: Sequencing data were analyzed to screen the genes with expression alterations. The top genes were validated in our samples. 11 hub genes were screened out. Among these genes, STAT3 and CDK2 were significantly associated with recurrence. Further study suggested that inhibition of CDK2 reduced invasion of Pca cell lines. The invasion ability was rescued after reintroduction of CDK2. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that CDK2 was a crucial factor in metastasis of Pca and might be a novel therapy target. [Formula: see text].