Urethral pharmacological mechanisms incontinence and bladder emptying: An updated review.

Background: The urethral wall consists of layers of striated muscle, circular and longitudinal smooth muscles, collagen fibers, and a vascular plexus. However, the relative contributions of these components to urethral pressure in humans remain poorly understood. The circular and longitudinal smooth muscle components can develop a spontaneous contractile activity, generating a basal tone.

Gösta Jönsson (1909-1978): A pioneer in the hormonal treatment of prostate cancer in Sweden.

Treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer is and has been a challenge. In 1957, the chemist Imre Könyves came to Sweden as a refugee from Hungary and started to work at AB Leo, a pharmaceutical company in Helsingborg. In 1961, he started to synthesize compounds where the oestrogens were linked to a mustard group by a carbamate.

Can Urinary Bladder Innervation Be Restored After Outlet Obstruction and Denervation?

Transurethral resection of the prostate, or other methods to decrease outlet resistance usually leads to relief of symptoms in patients with bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). If symptoms of underactivity persist after normalization of outflow conditions, treatment options are limited. In this review, we hypothesize, based on results from basic research, what might become treatment options for such patients in the future.

Molecular and Morphological Characteristics of the De-Obstructed Rat Urinary Bladder-An Update.

Many patients with outlet obstruction secondary to prostatic enlargement have lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs) and an increased frequency of micturition. The standard treatment is transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), which alleviates obstruction and symptoms. However, after TURP, 20-40 percent of patients continue to experience LUTSs.

Early history of skin preservation and transplantation; the role of Carl August Ljunggren.

During the late 19th and the early 20th century there was an unprecedented development in medical research. Tissue and cell culture rapidly developed into areas with many contributing scientists. The same is true for tissue transplantation.

[Treatment of erectile dysfunction - from pill to implant].

The article gives an overview of erectile mechanisms and erectile dysfunction (ED). Current treatment of ED is presented. Most of the patients with ED should be treated by their primary care physician.

Antagonistic relationship between the unfolded protein response and myocardin-driven transcription in smooth muscle.

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are characterized by a high degree of phenotypic plasticity. Contractile differentiation is governed by myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTFs), in particular myocardin (MYOCD), and when their drive is lost, the cells become proliferative and synthetic with an expanded endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ER is responsible for assembly and folding of secreted proteins.

Identification of the intermediate filament protein synemin/SYNM as a target of myocardin family coactivators.

Myocardin (MYOCD) is a critical regulator of smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation, but its transcriptional targets remain to be exhaustively characterized, especially at the protein level. Here we leveraged human RNA and protein expression data to identify novel potential MYOCD targets. Using correlation analyses we found several targets that we could confirm at the protein level, including SORBS1, SLMAP, SYNM, and MCAM.

Nexilin/NEXN controls actin polymerization in smooth muscle and is regulated by myocardin family coactivators and YAP.

Nexilin, encoded by the NEXN gene, is expressed in striated muscle and localizes to Z-discs, influencing mechanical stability. We examined Nexilin/NEXN in smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and addressed if Nexilin localizes to dense bodies and dense bands and whether it is regulated by actin-controlled coactivators from the MRTF (MYOCD, MKL1, MKL2) and YAP/TAZ (YAP1 and WWTR1) families. NEXN expression in SMCs was comparable to that in striated muscles.

Scientific language trends among Swedish urologists and surgeons 1900-1955.

Purpose: Before English took the lead as the prime scientific language among northern European urologists and surgeons, German was widely regarded as the "lingua franca". This shift has to date not been systematically reconstructed. This article provides insights into the question how political and social factors influence how physicians communicate with each other, what they read, and how the constellations of international scientific communities in medicine change over time.

Array profiling reveals contribution of Cthrc1 to growth of the denervated rat urinary bladder.

Bladder denervation and bladder outlet obstruction are urological conditions that cause bladder growth. Transcriptomic surveys in outlet obstruction have identified differentially expressed genes, but similar studies following denervation have not been done. This was addressed using a rat model in which the pelvic ganglia were cryo-ablated followed by bladder microarray analyses.

Similar regulatory mechanisms of caveolins and cavins by myocardin family coactivators in arterial and bladder smooth muscle.

Caveolae are membrane invaginations present at high densities in muscle and fat. Recent work has demonstrated that myocardin family coactivators (MYOCD, MKL1), which are important for contractile differentiation and cell motility, increase caveolin (CAV1, CAV2, CAV3) and cavin (CAVIN1, CAVIN2, CAVIN3) transcription, but several aspects of this control mechanism remain to be investigated. Here, using promoter reporter assays we found that both MKL1/MRTF-A and MKL2/MRTF-B control caveolins and cavins via their proximal promoter sequences.

Neurite outgrowth in cultured mouse pelvic ganglia - Effects of neurotrophins and bladder tissue.

Neurotrophic factors regulate survival and growth of neurons. The urinary bladder is innervated via both sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons located in the major pelvic ganglion. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of the neurotrophins nerve growth factor (NGF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) on the sprouting rate of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurites from the female mouse ganglion.

Cavin-3 (PRKCDBP) deficiency reduces the density of caveolae in smooth muscle.

Cavins belong to a family of proteins that contribute to the formation of caveolae, which are membrane organelles with functional roles in muscle and fat. Here, we investigate the effect of cavin-3 ablation on vascular and urinary bladder structure and function. Arteries and urinary bladders from mice lacking cavin-3 (knockout: KO) and from controls (wild type: WT) were examined.

MicroRNAs in Bladder Outlet Obstruction: Relationship to Growth and Matrix Remodelling.

The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), which are ~22 nucleotide RNAs that inhibit protein synthesis in a sequence-specific manner and are present in a range of species, has born hope of new therapeutic strategies. miRNAs play important roles in development and disease, but they remain poorly studied in uropathologies beyond cancer. Here, we discuss biological functions of miRNAs in the lower urogenital tract.

Assessing the contribution of thrombospondin-4 induction and ATF6α activation to endoplasmic reticulum expansion and phenotypic modulation in bladder outlet obstruction.

Phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells is a hallmark of disease. The associated expansion of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) volume remains unexplained. Thrombospondin-4 was recently found to promote ATF6α activation leading to ER expansion.

Non-uniform changes in membrane receptors in the rat urinary bladder following outlet obstruction.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and distribution of membrane receptors after bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). Partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) was induced in female rats and bladders were harvested after either 10 days or 6 weeks of BOO. The expression of different receptors was surveyed by microarrays and corroborated by immunohistochemistry and western blotting.

Vasopressin-induced mouse urethral contraction is modulated by caveolin-1.

Caveolae are 50-100nm large invaginations in the cell membrane that are considered to play roles in receptor signaling. Here we aimed to investigate the expression and distribution of the arginine-vasopressin (AVP) V1a receptor and its functional dependence on caveolin-1 (Cav1) in the mouse urethra. Female Cav1 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice were used, and urethral preparations were micro-dissected for mechanical experiments.

Detrusor induction of miR-132/212 following bladder outlet obstruction: association with MeCP2 repression and cell viability.

The microRNAs (miRNAs) miR-132 and miR-212 have been found to regulate synaptic plasticity and cholinergic signaling and recent work has demonstrated roles outside of the CNS, including in smooth muscle. Here, we examined if miR-132 and miR-212 are induced in the urinary bladder following outlet obstruction and whether this correlates with effects on gene expression and cell growth. Three to seven-fold induction of miR-132/212 was found at 10 days of obstruction and this was selective for the detrusor layer.

Organ-sparing reconstructive surgery in penile cancer: initial experiences at two Swedish referral centres.

Objective: The aim of this study was to present early outcome data for patients treated for penile cancer with organ-sparing reconstructive surgery at two referral centres in Sweden.

Material And Methods: Oncological, cosmetic and functional outcome and complications were analysed retrospectively during the period 2011-2013. Twelve patients with non-invasive penile cancer were treated with glans resurfacing (GR), while 15 patients with invasive penile cancer underwent total glansectomy with neoglans reconstruction (TGN).

HIF-mediated metabolic switching in bladder outlet obstruction mitigates the relaxing effect of mitochondrial inhibition.

Prior work demonstrated increased levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the bladder following outlet obstruction, associated with bladder growth and fibrosis. Here we hypothesized that HIF induction in outlet obstruction also switches energetic support of contraction from mitochondrial respiration to glycolysis. To address this hypothesis, we created infravesical outlet obstruction in female Sprague-Dawley rats and examined HIF induction and transcriptional activation.

Mir-29 repression in bladder outlet obstruction contributes to matrix remodeling and altered stiffness.

Recent work has uncovered a role of the microRNA (miRNA) miR-29 in remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Partial bladder outlet obstruction is a prevalent condition in older men with prostate enlargement that leads to matrix synthesis in the lower urinary tract and increases bladder stiffness. Here we tested the hypothesis that miR-29 is repressed in the bladder in outlet obstruction and that this has an impact on protein synthesis and matrix remodeling leading to increased bladder stiffness.