Biocompatible, biodegradable, and anticancer alginate-quercetin ureteral stent via co-axial extrusion technique.

Ureteral stents (US) are used as interventional medical implants in the treatment and surgery of urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study reported a new formulation of alginate-quercetin (AQ) based US through a co-axial extrusion procedure for the first time to afford a 26 cm long US with 3.2×1.

Risk factors for migration of retrievable covered expandable metallic stent in patients with persistent benign ureter strictures.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and salvage management of retrievable covered expandable metallic stent (RCEMS) migration in patients with persistent benign ureter strictures.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 117 consecutive patients who underwent implantation of RCEMS. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify prognostic factors for stent migration, including stricture location and length, hydronephrosis-cortex ratio, ureteral dilation, and the diameter of the narrowest portion of the stricture.

MFN2 suppresses the accumulation of lipid droplets and the progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Dissolving the lipid droplets in tissue section with alcohol during a hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain causes the tumor cells to appear like clear soap bubbles under a microscope, which is a key pathological feature of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Mitochondrial dynamics have been reported to be closely associated with lipid metabolism and tumor development. However, the relationship between mitochondrial dynamics and lipid metabolism reprogramming in ccRCC remains to be further explored.

Vacuum-Assisted Conventional Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy for the Treatment of Two-to-Four-Centimeter Stones: A Multicenter Prospective and Randomized Trial.

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the recommended treatment for 2-4-cm renal stones. Minimally invasive PCNL (MPCNL) with ≤22F sheath was frequently used instead of standard PCNL. MPCNL uses pressurized irrigation to flush out stone fragments through a conventional nephrostomy sheath (cNS), which may result in higher intrarenal pressure (IRP) and longer operating time.

Using vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath in the treatment of complex steinstrasse.

Steinstrasse is an iatrogenic condition resulting from upper urinary tract lithotripsy. Uncomplicated steinstrasse can be managed expectantly. Complex steinstrasse can pose a therapeutic challenge.

Spermidine suppresses the activation of hepatic stellate cells to cure liver fibrosis through autophagy activator MAP1S.

Background And Aims: Liver diseases present a wide range of fibrosis, from fatty liver with no inflammation to steatohepatitis with varying degrees of fibrosis, to established cirrhosis leading to HCC. In a multivariate analysis, serum levels of spermidine were chosen as the top metabolite from 237 metabolites and its levels were drastically reduced along with progression to advanced steatohepatitis. Our previous studies that showed spermidine supplementation helps mice prevent liver fibrosis through MAP1S have prompted us to explore the possibility that spermidine can alleviate or cure already developed liver fibrosis.

The roles of long non‑coding RNAs in renal cell carcinoma (Review).

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the gene expression regulation and usually play important roles in various human cancers, including the renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Dysregulation of certain lncRNAs are associated with the prognosis of patients with RCC. In the present review, several recently studied lncRNAs were discussed and their critical roles in proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and drug resistance of renal cancer cells were revealed.

Comparison of intrarenal pressure between convention and vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath using an ex vivo porcine kidney model.

Objective: This study aimed to prove the vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath (vaUAS) is more effective in maintaining a lower IRP than conventional ureteral access sheath (cUAS).

Materials: The model consisted of 12 freshly harvested adult porcine kidneys.

Methods: Either a 12/14F cUAS or vaUAS was alternately inserted into the ureter to one cm below the renal pelvis.

MYPT1 inhibits the metastasis of renal clear cell carcinoma via the MAPK8/N-cadherin pathway.

Myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) is a subunit of myosin phosphatase that is capable of regulating smooth muscle contraction. MYPT1 has been reported to be involved in a wide variety of tumours, but its expression and biological functions in renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remain obscure. Herein, we analysed the relationship between patient clinicopathological characteristics and MYPT1 expression levels in ccRCC patients using a tissue microarray (TMA) and data retrieved from the TCGA-KIRC dataset.

An NIR photothermal-responsive hybrid hydrogel for enhanced wound healing.

Moderately regulating vascularization and immune microenvironment of wound site is necessary to achieve scarless wound healing of the skin. Herein, we have prepared an angiogenesis-promoting and scar-preventing band-aid with a core-shell structure, that consists of MXene-loaded nanofibers (MNFs) as the core and dopamine-hyaluronic acid hydrogel (H) as the shell (MNFs@V-H@DA) to encapsulate a growth factor (vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF, abbreviated as V) and HS donor (diallyl trisulfide, DATS, abbreviated as DA). The continuous release of DA from this system produced HS, which would successfully induce macrophages to polarize into M2-lile phenotype, regulating the immune microenvironment and inhibiting an excessive inflammatory response at the wound sites.

[Bioinformatics-based identification of the key genes associated with prostate cancer].

Objective: To identify the key genes associated with the pathogenesis of PCa using the bioinformatics approach for a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of PCa.

Methods: The microarray datasets GSE70770, GSE32571 and GSE46602 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the normal prostate tissue and PCa were identified with the GEO2R tool, followed by functional enrichment analysis. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed by STRING and visualized with the Cytoscape software.

Bladder Paraganglioma: Three Cases Report and Literature Review.

Background: Bladder paraganglioma (BPG) is one of the rare neuroendocrine neoplasms that develops from neural crest cells. It categorizes into functional and non-functional types based on the catecholamines secretion. Currently, functional BPG is predicted in advance based on signs and symptoms of catecholamine excess, such as hypertension and "micturition attacks".

Risk Scores Based on Six Survival-Related RNAs in a Competing Endogenous Network Composed of Differentially Expressed RNAs Between Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients Carrying Wild-Type or Mutant Von Hippel-Lindau Serve Well to Predict Malignancy and Prognosis.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) carrying wild-type Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor are more invasive and of high morbidity. Concurrently, competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network has been suggested to play an important role in ccRCC malignancy. In order to understand why the patients carrying wild-type VHL gene have high degrees of invasion and morbidity, we applied bioinformatics approaches to identify 861 differentially expressed RNAs (DE-RNAs) between patients carrying wild-type and patients carrying mutant VHL from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, established a ceRNA network including 122 RNAs, and elected six survival-related DE-RNAs including Linc00942, Linc00858, RP13_392I16.

Double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase-knockdown inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of DU145 and PC3 cells by promoting the phosphorylation of H2A.X variant histone.

Double-stranded RNA-specific adenosine deaminase (ADAR1) is a member of the adenosine deaminases acting on RNA family that catalyze the adenosine-to-inosine editing of double-stranded RNA substrates. Several studies have reported that ADAR1 is closely associated with numerous malignancies. However, the functional roles of ADAR1 in prostate cancer (PCa) have not been fully elucidated.

Erratum: MicroRNA-429 inhibits cancer cell proliferation and migration by targeting AKT1 in renal cell carcinoma.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/mco.2019.

LRPPRC sustains Yap-P27-mediated cell ploidy and P62-HDAC6-mediated autophagy maturation and suppresses genome instability and hepatocellular carcinomas.

Mutants in the gene encoding mitochondrion-associated protein LRPPRC were found to be associated with French Canadian Type Leigh syndrome, a human disorder characterized with neurodegeneration and cytochrome c oxidase deficiency. LRPPRC interacts with one of microtubule-associated protein family MAP1S that promotes autophagy initiation and maturation to suppress genomic instability and tumorigenesis. Previously, although various studies have attributed LRPPRC nuclear acid-associated functions, we characterized that LRPPRC acted as an inhibitor of autophagy in human cancer cells.

Comparison of two different minimally invasive percutaneous nephrostomy sheaths for the treatment of staghorn stones.

Objective: To compare the safety and effectiveness of using a conventional nephrostomy sheath (NS) vs using a new NS with suction and evacuation functions in minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) for the treatment of staghorn stones.

Patients And Methods: A prospective and randomised study of 60 patients with staghorn stones randomly assigned into two groups of 30 patients. One group underwent MPCNL using conventional NS, whereas the other group underwent MPCNL with suction-evacuation NS (SENS).

Use of a Novel Vacuum-Assisted Access Sheath in Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Feasibility Study.

To assess the safety and efficacy of a novel vacuum-assisted access sheath (VAAS) in minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL). Seventy-five consecutive patients with single renal pelvic stone were treated with MPCNL combined with a novel VAAS. Patients' demographics and surgical outcomes, as well as perioperative and postoperative data, were recorded.

MicroRNA-429 inhibits cancer cell proliferation and migration by targeting AKT1 in renal cell carcinoma.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miR) serve as oncogenes and tumor suppressors. In a previous study, it was revealed that has-miRNA-429 (miR-429) is a tumor suppressor in 786-O renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. However, its mechanism in RCC remains to be determined.