Myopodin, a synaptopodin homologue, is frequently deleted in invasive prostate cancers.

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths for men in the United States. Like other malignancies, prostate cancer is underscored by a variety of aberrant genetic alterations during its development. Although loss of heterozygosity or allelic loss is frequently identified among prostate cancers, few genes have been identified thus far as critical to the development of invasive prostate cancers.

E-cadherin expression and PSA secretion in human prostate epithelial cells.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most widely used marker for the diagnosis of prostate cancer and is an independent predictor of prostatic capsular invasion. A number of studies have identified E-cadherin, a cell adhesion protein, as a potential invasion suppressor which is decreased in prostate adenocarcinoma. Our goal in the present study was to evaluate E-cadherin expression in primary cultures and determine the relationship between E-cadherin expression and PSA secretion in both primary cultures and the prostate tumor cell line, LNCaP.

Expression patterns of vitamin D receptor in human prostate.

UV exposure and serum levels of vitamin D have been linked in several studies with prostate cancer risk. At the cellular level, the principal action of vitamin D is mediated though vitamin D receptors (VDR). Since prostate cancer is a disease strongly associated with age, we examined the presence of VDR in normal prostate from donors of various ages to determine if the VDR expression pattern changed with age.

Efficacy of a synthetic lytic peptide in the treatment of prostate cancer.

In the last several years, significant effort has been applied to identifying novel agents with effectiveness against prostate cancer. These studies were designed to determine the efficacy of one of these novel compounds, D2A21, in the treatment of an animal model of prostate cancer. Using the Mat-Ly-Lu(MLL) line of the Dunning R-3327 rat prostate adenocarcinoma model, the optimal dose, schedule and route of administration of D2A21 were established.

Cold-temperature plastic resin embedding of liver for DNA- and RNA-based genotyping.

The standard practice of tissue fixation in 10% formalin followed by embedding in paraffin wax preserves cellular morphology at the expense of availability and quality of DNA and RNA. The negative effect on cellular constituents results from a combination of extensive cross-linking and strand scission of DNA, RNA, and proteins induced by formaldehyde as well as RNA loss secondary to ubiquitous RNase activity and negative effects of high temperature exposure during paraffin melting, microscopic section collection, and tissue adherence to glass slides. An effective strategy to correlate cellular phenotype with molecular genotype involves microdissection of tissue sections based on specific histopathological features followed by genotyping of minute representative samples for specific underlying molecular alterations.

Identification of a novel gene with increasing rate of suppression in high grade prostate cancers.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. However, the underlying molecular events for prostate cancer development are not clear. In this study, we applied the recently developed technology known as differential subtraction chain (DSC) to identify a novel gene whose expression is inactivated in high grade prostate cancer.

Expression of cadherins and catenins in paired tumor and non-neoplastic primary prostate cultures and corresponding prostatectomy specimens.

Cadherins are a family of transmembrane proteins that play a crucial role in cell differentiation, cell migration, and intercellular adhesion. Cadherins are associated with catenins through their highly conserved cytoplasmic domain. Down-regulation of E-cadherin protein has been shown in various human cancers.

Persistence and survival of autologous muscle derived cells versus bovine collagen as potential treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Purpose: We explored the use of autologous muscle derived cells as a method of treating stress urinary incontinence. We determined whether urethral muscle derived cell injection is feasible and compared it with bovine collagen injection.

Materials And Methods: Muscle derived cells isolated from female Sprague-Dawley rats were first transduced with retrovirus carrying the transgene for beta-galactosidase.

Effects of vitamin D (calcitriol) on transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in vitro and in vivo.

Purpose: Vitamin D (calcitriol) has significant antiproliferative effects on various tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. In the clinical situation a major impediment to systemic administration of calcitriol is the side effect of hypercalcemia. To test the potential usefulness of calcitriol for bladder cancer treatment, we studied the antiproliferative effect of vitamin D on 2 human bladder cancer cell lines, 253j and T-24, in vitro.

In vitro and in vivo effects of vitamin D (calcitriol) administration on the normal neonatal and prepubertal prostate.

Purpose: Although many studies have investigated the role of calcitriol in the growth regulation of normal and cancerous prostates, little is known about its role in early prostatic development. The interactions between calcitriol and androgens, and their actions on the normal prostate have similarly been proposed but not evaluated. Previous studies in our laboratory have revealed that in utero administration of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol or calcitriol can influence prostate growth and differentiation throughout the life of the animal.

Detection of bladder cancer using a novel nuclear matrix protein, BLCA-4.

We have identified previously six nuclear matrix proteins (NMPs) that are bladder cancer specific. In this study, we analyzed the expression of one of these proteins, BLCA-4, in bladder tumors and normal bladder tissue. We also examined the appearance of BLCA-4 in the urine as a biomarker for bladder cancer.

CD44 Expression in Benign and Neoplastic Human Prostates.

Background: CD44, a major cell surface receptor for hyaluronic acid, is a family of ubiquitous cell surface glycoproteins. Altered levels of CD44 expression, seen in many epithelial neoplasms, have prognostic implications. Expression of standard and variant isoforms of CD44 was assessed in normal and neoplastic human prostate tissue and culture cells to evaluate as a marker for malignant transformation.

Methylation of the CD44 metastasis suppressor gene in human prostate cancer.

Previous studies demonstrated that CD44 is a metastasis suppressor gene for prostate cancer and that the expression of CD44 both at mRNA and protein levels is down-regulated during prostate cancer progression, with down-regulation being correlated with higher tumor grade, aneuploidy, and distant metastasis. In this study, we evaluated DNA hypermethylation as a potential mechanism accompanying this decreased CD44 expression in human prostate cancer. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a CpG island in the CD44 transcriptional regulatory region.

Prostatic carcinoma with signet ring cells: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of 12 cases, with review of the literature.

Prostatic adenocarcinoma with a signet ring cell (SRC) component is a rare, incompletely characterized variant that must be distinguished from similar tumors of bladder or gastric origin. In this study, we used mucin and immunoperoxidase stains on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from 12 prostatic adenocarcinomas with SRC components, with antibodies to prostate-specific antigen (PSA), cytokeratins, MIB-1, bcl-2, c-MET, CD44v6, and CD44v7; we performed a comparison study on six bladder and seven gastric carcinomas with SRCs. The prostatic SRC component was always associated with the usual high-grade adenocarcinoma.

Identification of nuclear matrix protein alterations associated with renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Neoplastic transformation, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is always accompanied by changes in nuclear morphology. Nuclear grading of RCC is based on characteristic alterations in nuclear shape, size, area and other morphologic parameters. The nuclear matrix, which forms the skeleton of the nucleus, determines nuclear morphology.

Vitamin D inhibition of prostate adenocarcinoma growth and metastasis in the Dunning rat prostate model system.

Objectives: Risk factors for prostate cancer (PCa)-related mortality include old age, black race, and residence in northern latitudes. The objectives of this study are to examine the in vitro and in vivo effects of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-D3) and less-hypercalcemic analogues on the Dunning rat prostate adenocarcinoma model.

Methods: To evaluate the effect of 1,25-D3 on PCa in vitro, we used the highly metastatic Mat-lylu (MLL) and moderately metastatic R3327-AT-2 (AT-2) Dunning prostate cell lines, and examined effects on growth, clonogenicity, differentiation, and cell cycle.

Perineural invasion in transitional cell carcinoma and the effect on prognosis following radical cystectomy.

Objectives: The relationship between perineural invasion and prognosis has been demonstrated to be poor in a number of malignancies. This has not been evaluated in the bladder. We performed a study to determine the occurrence of nodal metastases, extranodal metastases, and disease-free survival in patients with perineural invasion (PNI) and/or angiolymphatic invasion (ALI) in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCCB) from radical cystectomy specimens.

Mouse embryonic stem cells express receptors of the insulin family of growth factors.

Insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and -II) are members of a family of growth factors which are known to be developmentally regulated during preimplantation mouse embryogenesis. The physiological actions of the insulin family of growth factors are mediated by interactions with specific cell surface receptors that are detectable on the cells of preimplantation mouse embryos. Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells are totipotent cells derived directly from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst.

Rhinosporidiosis in India: a case report and review of literature.

A 21-year-old male from Kerala, south India, who had been living in Chandigarh for the last 4 years presented with a nasal polyp in the left nasal cavity. On histopathological examination, it was found to be due to rhinosporidiosis. This disease is not uncommon in south India, but few case reports have been documented from north India.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia manifestating as exfoliative dermatitis.

A 60-year-old patient reported with a history of redness and peeling of the skin, and sensations of chills and tightness of the skin of three months duration. Clinical examination revealed exfoliative dermatitis, generalised lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegely. A peripheral smear showed features of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Orbital neurofibrosarcoma: a case report.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours of orbit is rare entity. Only sixteen cases are reported in world literature. Bengin schwannomas of the orbit are found in 1.