Proteomic Comparison of Malignant Human Germ Cell Tumor Cell Lines.

Malignant germ cell tumors (GCT) are the most common malignant tumors in young men between 18 and 40 years. The correct identification of histological subtypes, in difficult cases supported by immunohistochemistry, is essential for therapeutic management. Furthermore, biomarkers may help to understand pathophysiological processes in these tumor types.

Primary signet-ring stromal tumour of the testis: case report with literature review.

Primary signet-ring stromal tumour of the testis (PSRSTT) is a very rare type of primary testicular tumour, which is not actually mentioned in the current WHO categorization of tumours of the male genital organs. In this case we report about histologically and immunohistochemically features of this rare tumour. In the present case, PSRTT was found in the orchiectomy preparation of a 69-year-old man with painless swelling of his left testicle.

Testosterone metabolites inhibit proliferation of castration- and therapy-resistant prostate cancer.

Novel treatments for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) such as abiraterone acetate (AA) or enzalutamide effectively target the androgen pathway to arrest aberrant signalling and cell proliferation. Testosterone is able to inhibit tumour cell growth in CRPC. Estrogen receptor-beta (ERβ) binds the testosterone-metabolites 3β-androstanediol and 3α-androstanediol in parallel to the canonical estradiol.

Pathogenic and targetable genetic alterations in 70 urachal adenocarcinomas.

Urachal cancer (UrC) is a rare but aggressive malignancy often diagnosed in advanced stages requiring systemic treatment. Although cytotoxic chemotherapy is of limited effectiveness, prospective clinical studies can hardly be conducted. Targeted therapeutic treatment approaches and potentially immunotherapy based on a biological rationale may provide an alternative strategy.

Role of N-cadherin in proliferation, migration, and invasion of germ cell tumours.

Germ cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common malignancies in young men. Most patients with GCT can be cured with cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy, even in metastatic disease. In case of therapy resistance, prognosis is usually poor.

Differential expression of Mediator complex subunit MED15 in testicular germ cell tumors.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are the most common cancer entities in young men with increasing incidence observed in the last decades. For therapeutic management it is important, that TGCT are divided into several histological subtypes. MED15 is part of the multiprotein Mediator complex which presents an integrative hub for transcriptional regulation and is known to be deregulated in several malignancies, such as prostate cancer and bladder cancer role, whereas the role of the Mediator complex in TGCT has not been investigated so far.

Ovarian-type epithelial tumours of the testis: immunohistochemical and molecular analysis of two serous borderline tumours of the testis.

Tumours of ovarian-epithelial type of the testis, including serous borderline tumours, represent very rare entities. They are identical to the surface epithelial tumours of the ovary and have been reported in patients from 14 to 68 years of age. We describe two cases of a 46- and a 39-year old man with incidental findings of intratesticular masses of the left respectively right testis.

CK19 is a sensitive marker for yolk sac tumours of the testis.

Background: Malignant germ cell tumours are the most common malignant tumours in young men. They are histologically divided into seminomas and non-seminomas. Non-seminomas are further subdivided into embryonic carcinomas, yolk sac tumours, chorionic carcinomas, and teratomas.

Tumor-associated macrophages are involved in tumor progression in papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a key role in cancer development. Especially, the immunosuppressive M2 phenotype is associated with increased tumor growth, invasiveness and metastasis. The differentiation of macrophages to the alternative phenotype M2 is mediated, inter alia, by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF).

Phytoestrogens regulate the proliferation and expression of stem cell factors in cell lines of malignant testicular germ cell tumors.

Phytoestrogens have been shown to exert anti-proliferative effects on different cancer cells. In addition it could be demonstrated that inhibition of proliferation is associated with downregulation of the known stem cell factors NANOG, POU5F1 and SOX2 in tumor cells. We demonstrate the potential of Belamcanda chinensis extract (BCE) and tectorigenin as anticancer drugs in cell lines of malignant testicular germ cell tumor cells (TGCT) by inhibition of proliferation and regulating the expression of stem cell factors.

Sertoliform cystadenoma: a rare benign tumour of the rete testis.

Unlabelled: Sertoliform cystadenoma of the rete testis represents an uncommon benign tumour. They appear in patients from 26 to 62 years of age. We describe a case of a 66-year-old man with a tumour in the area of the epididymal head.

13-year-old tuberous sclerosis patient with renal cell carcinoma associated with multiple renal angiomyolipomas developing multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia.

Background: The autosomal dominant tumor syndrome tuberous sclerosis complex is caused by the mutated TSC1 gene, hamartin, and the TSC2 gene, tuberin. Patients with this complex develop typical cutaneus symptoms such as peau chagrin or angiofibromas of the skin as well as other lesions such as astrocytomas in the brain and lymphangioleiomyomatosis in the lung. Only a few tuberous sclerosis patients have been described who showed a multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia of the lung.

N-cadherin expression in malignant germ cell tumours of the testis.

Background: Testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs) are the most common malignancy in young men aged 18-35 years. They are clinically and histologically subdivided into seminomas and non-seminomas. Cadherins are calcium-dependent transmembrane proteins of the group of adhesion proteins.

N-cadherin is differentially expressed in histological subtypes of papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents a rare tumor, which is divided, based on histological criteria, into two subtypes. In contrast to type I papillary RCC type II papillary RCC shows a worse prognosis. So far, reliable immunohistochemical markers for the distinction of these subtypes are not available.

Pleural malakoplakia caused by Rhodococcus equi infection in a patient after stem cell transplantation.

Malakoplakia is a disease especially of the urinary tract with typical plaques most frequently observed in the urinary bladder's mucosa. In the context of immunosuppression malakoplakia can also occur in other organs. Some of these extravesical malakoplakias are associated with an infection by Rhodococcus equi, a rare human pathogen well known from veterinary medicine.

Chemokine-mediated distribution of dendritic cell subsets in renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents one of the most immunoresponsive cancers. Antigen-specific vaccination with dendritic cells (DCs) in patients with metastatic RCC has been shown to induce cytotoxic T-cell responses associated with objective clinical responses. Thus, clinical trials utilizing DCs for immunotherapy of advanced RCCs appear to be promising; however, detailed analyses concerning the distribution and function of DC subsets in RCCs are lacking.

Overexpression of Eag1 potassium channels in clinical tumours.

Background: Certain types of potassium channels (known as Eag1, KCNH1, Kv10.1) are associated with the production of tumours in patients and in animals. We have now studied the expression pattern of the Eag1 channel in a large range of normal and tumour tissues from different collections utilising molecular biological and immunohistochemical techniques.

Stem-cell protein Piwil2 is widely expressed in tumors and inhibits apoptosis through activation of Stat3/Bcl-XL pathway.

The genes of the piwi family are defined by conserved PAZ and Piwi domains and play important roles in stem-cell self-renewal, RNA silencing and translational regulation in various organisms. Both, mouse and human Piwil2 genes, members of the piwi gene family, are specifically expressed in testis. We report here enhanced expression of the human Piwil2 gene in testicular seminomas, but not in testicular non-seminomatous tumors.

The balance between MMP-2/-9 and TIMP-1/-2 is shifted towards MMP in renal cell carcinomas and can be further disturbed by hydrogen peroxide.

In malignant tumors the balance of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP) is disturbed. Radical oxygen species (ROS) and hydrogen peroxide potentially influence this balance. Therefore, we analyzed the balance of MMP and TIMP in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) specimens and cell lines.

Cloning of a complementary DNA encoding the unique dendritic cell antigen Ki-M9.

Human sinus-lining cells (SLC) of the lymph node sinuses most probably represent accessory cells for the primary humoral immune response and have been shown to express a unique antigen recognized by the monoclonal antibody Ki-M9. To characterize this SLC-specific antigen further, a spleen cDNA library established in the expression vector lambda gt-11 was searched immunochemically for clones expressing the Ki-M9 antigen. Two recombinant phage clones revealed a cDNA with an open reading frame of 1666 bp encoding a 68-kDa protein.

Mycobacterial antigens induce apoptosis in human purified protein derivative-specific alphabeta T lymphocytes in a concentration-dependent manner.

The morbidity and lethality of tuberculosis is partially the result of an ineffective delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction which causes caseating granulomas in the lung and other organs. Recently we showed that during caseation besides macrophages numerous Fas+ FasL+ lymphocytes undergo apoptosis and postulated that this phenomenon may be due to activation-induced cell death (AICD) as a consequence of T-lymphocyte reactivation via bacillary antigens. As purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb-PPD) provokes caseation in tuberculosis patients, the question arose as to whether bacillary antigens are responsible for AICD within caseous areas.