Glycine Decarboxylase (GLDC) Plays a Crucial Role in Regulating Energy Metabolism, Invasion, Metastasis and Immune Escape for Prostate Cancer.

Glycine decarboxylase (GLDC) is one of the core enzymes for glycine metabolism and its biological roles in prostate cancer (PCa) are unclear. First, we found that GLDC plays a central role in glycolysis in 540 TCGA PCa patients. Subsequently, a metabolomic microarray showed that GLDC enhanced aerobic glycolysis in PCa cells, and GLDC and its enzyme activity enhanced glucose uptake, lactate production and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in PCa cells.

Overexpression of SPHK1 associated with targeted therapy resistance in predicting poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of sphingosine. Recent studies reported SPHK1 to be associated with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) progression by inducing targeted therapy resistance. However, the expression and the clinical significance of SPHK1 on RCC in those having received targeted therapy have not been elucidated.

Plasma cell subtypes analyzed using artificial intelligence algorithm for predicting biochemical recurrence, immune escape potential, and immunotherapy response of prostate cancer.

Background: Plasma cells as an important component of immune microenvironment plays a crucial role in immune escape and are closely related to immune therapy response. However, its role for prostate cancer is rarely understood. In this study, we intend to investigate the value of a new plasma cell molecular subtype for predicting the biochemical recurrence, immune escape and immunotherapy response in prostate cancer.

Exosomes derived from BMSCs ameliorate cyclophosphamide-induced testosterone deficiency by enhancing the autophagy of Leydig cells via the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway.

Cyclophosphamide-induced testosterone deficiency (CPTD) during the treatment of cancers and autoimmune disorders severely influences the quality of life of patients. Currently, several guidelines recommend patients suffering from CPTD receive testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). However, TRT has many disadvantages underscoring the requirement for alternative, nontoxic treatment strategies.

Abiraterone, Orteronel, Enzalutamide and Docetaxel: Sequential or Combined Therapy?

To summarize the current therapeutic status using chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel and endocrine therapeutic agents (ARAT, abiraterone, orteronel or enzalutamide) for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), including sequential therapy and combined therapy, to promote the consensus on the optimal regimen for achieving superior treatment efficacy. Through literature search in PubMed, articles with the following relevant keywords were collected and anlyzed: CRPC, abiraterone, orteronel and enzalutamide, median survival, overall survival, prostate specific antigen (PSA), PSA response rate and median radiologic progression-free survival. Fifty-eight articles were obtained and analyzed in this review.

Comprehensive signature analysis of drug metabolism differences in the White, Black and Asian prostate cancer patients.

The drug response sensitivity and related prognosis of prostate cancer varied from races, while the original mechanism remains rarely understood. In this study, the comprehensive signature including transcriptomics, epigenome and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of 485 PCa cases- including 415 Whites, 58 Blacks and 12 Asians from the TCGA database were analyzed to investigate the drug metabolism differences between races. We found that Blacks and Whites had a more prominent drug metabolism, cytotoxic therapy resistance, and endocrine therapy resistance than Asians, while Whites were more prominent in drug metabolism, cytotoxic therapy resistance and endocrine therapy resistance than Blacks.

M2 subtype tumor associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) infiltration predicts poor response rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors treatment for prostate cancer.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is poor response to the immunotherapy for its high heterogeneity of immune microenvironment. In this study, we aim to introduce a new immune subtype for PCa involving M2 tumour associated macrophages M2-TAMs).

Methods: Three hundred and sixty-two PCa patients and matched normal prostate tissues were selected from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases.

Protective effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes against the reproductive toxicity of cyclophosphamide is associated with the p38MAPK/ERK and AKT signaling pathways.

Spermatogenic dysfunction caused by cyclophosphamide (CP) chemotherapy has seriously influenced the life quality of patients. Unfortunately, treatments for CP-induced testicular spermatogenic dysfunction are limited, and the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. For the first time, here, we explored the effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (BMSC-exos) on CP-induced testicular spermatogenic dysfunction in vitro and in vivo.

A novel robust nomogram based on peripheral monocyte counts for predicting lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer.

Accurate methods for identifying pelvic lymph node metastasis (LNM) of prostate cancer (PCa) prior to surgery are still lacking. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of peripheral monocyte count (PMC) for LNM of PCa in this study. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients from three centers were divided into a training set (n = 125) and a validation set (n = 173).

Down regulating PHGDH affects the lactate production of sertoli cells in varicocele.

Background: Although varicocele is considered to be one of the leading causes of male infertility, the precise mechanism underlying how varicocele leads to male infertility is not completely understood. We found the lactate concentration on the varicocele side of the patients was decreased compare with peripheral venous blood. In the testicles, the lactate produced by the sertoli cells through the glycolysis pathway provides most of the energy needed for spermatogenesis, the reduction of lactate will affect spermatogenesis.

Predictive value of cadherin-11 for subsequent recurrence and progression in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Background: Cadherin-11 (CDH11) is a type II cadherin and reported to function as an oncogene in various cancers. Our present study aims to investigate the role of CDH11 in bladder cancer (BCA).

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed in four independent microarray data including 56 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and 132 muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) tissues from Gene Expression Omnibus to screen out differentially expressed genes.

Optimal Starting Age and Baseline Level for Repeat Tests: Economic Concerns of PSA Screening for Chinese Men - 10-Year Experience of a Single Center.

Objective: To investigate the optimal age for the baseline serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and for repeat screening and its economic burden in a single center in China.

Materials And Methods: 35,533 men with PSA screening were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Follow-ups were conducted in 1,586 men with PSA >4 ng/mL, and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to investigate the optimal cutoffs.

With a new clip technique surgically inducing varicocele in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Background: We introduced and recreated a more consistent and effective experimental varicocele rat model by a new clip technique.

Methods: A total of 40 rats were numbered and randomly assigned to 5 groups of 8 each, including sham surgery (Group I), conventional (Group II) and clip groups with 0.7, 0.

[Application value of real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound in transrectal prostate biopsy].

Objective: To explore the application value of real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound (RTCEU) in improving the detection rate of transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy.

Methods: This prospective study included 91 male patients with abnormally high PSA (4－20 μg/L) or abnormalities in DRE or MRI, who underwent 12+X prostate biopsy following conventional transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and RTCEU examination. We compared the numbers of suspected prostatic nodules before and after RTCEU as well as the detection rates of prostate cancer between conventional TRUS-guided 12PBx and 12PBx plus lesion-targeted biopsy procedures.

[B-ultrasound guided aspiration and sclerotherapy with 2% iodophor for renal cysts].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of B-ultrasound-guided aspiration and sclerotherapy with 2% iodophor for treatment of renal cysts.

Methods: Twenty-eight cases of sympotomatic renal cysts were treated with B-ultrasound-guided aspiration followed by sclerotherapy with 2% iodopher, which was maintained for 20 min. After extraction of iodopher, another injection of 2% iodopher (5-10 ml) into the cysts was given.