[A case of Down's syndrome associated with recurrent testicular tumor treated by chemotherapy successfully: review of 41 cases in Japanese literature].

A 35-year-old male patient with Down' s syndrome received radical inguinal orchitectomy for left testicular tumor in 2006. Histological examination revealed a typical seminoma. 18 months after the operation, we found a metastasis in the right retroperitoneum lymph node.

The Escherichia coli K-12 ORFeome: a resource for comparative molecular microbiology.

Background: Systems biology and functional genomics require genome-wide datasets and resources. Complete sets of cloned open reading frames (ORFs) have been made for about a dozen bacterial species and allow researchers to express and study complete proteomes in a high-throughput fashion.

Results: We have constructed an open reading frame (ORFeome) collection of 3974 or 94% of the known Escherichia coli K-12 ORFs in Gateway entry vector pENTR/Zeo.

Fertility preservation for boys with cancer.

Childhood cancer is a curable disease due to the development of chemo- and radiation therapies, but long-term survivors suffer late side-effects including infertility. Cytotoxic agents and radiation impair spermatogenesis and cause oligospermia or azoospermia as well as genetic damage in sperm. To date, the only established option to preserve fertility is cryopreservation of sperm before treatment and artificial reproduction techniques, if men with cancer can ejaculate, but only a quarter of men have banked sperm.

A patient with Pendred syndrome whose goiter progressed with normal serum thyrotropin and iodine organification.

Biallelic mutations of SLC26A4 (encoding pendrin) cause Pendred syndrome (PS), an autosomal recessive genetic disorder with deafness and goiter. The mechanism underlying the development of the goiter is unknown. Here, we report clinical and molecular findings of a patient with PS.

Imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes in the brain on susceptibility-weighted MRI.

Background: Microsusceptibility changes in the brain are well known to correspond with microbleeds or micrometal fragments in adults, but this phenomenon has not been explored well in children.

Objective: To assess imaging and clinical characteristics of children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility changes using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI).

Materials And Methods: Between 2006 and 2008, 12 children with multiple foci of microsusceptibility on SWI without corresponding abnormal signal on conventional MRI were identified and were retrospectively assessed.

[Leiomyosarcoma of the renal vein: a case report].

A 52-year-old male presented with left intermittent abdominal pain, and was subsequently diagnosed with a tumor in the hilum of the left kidney based on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Under suspicion of left renal cancer, we performed a retroperitoneoscopic left nephrectomy. Histopathological features of the resected specimen were compatible with leiomyosarcoma originating from the left renal vein.

Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) is associated with prostatic growth dysregulation and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Background: Chronic inflammation is commonly observed in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), and prostate tissue often contains increased inflammatory infiltrates, including T cells and macrophages. Cytokines are not only key mediators of inflammation but may also play important roles in the initiation and progression of BPH.

Methods: In order to determine what cytokines might be involved in prostatic enlargement, expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) from ex vivo prostates were analyzed by human cytokine antibody microarray and ELISA.

Serial prostate biopsies are associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction in men with prostate cancer on active surveillance.

Purpose: We determined whether serial prostate needle biopsies predispose men to erectile dysfunction and/or lower urinary tract symptoms over time.

Materials And Methods: Men with prostate cancer on an active surveillance protocol were administered the 5-item Sexual Health Inventory for Men and International Prostate Symptom Score questionnaires on protocol entry, and at a cross-sectional point in 2008. All men had at least 1, 10 to 12-core prostate biopsy at protocol entry and yearly surveillance biopsies thereafter were recommended.

[Case of giant renal arteriovenous fistula in a long-term hemodialysis patient].

We report a case of giant left renal arteriovenous fistula (AVF). A 36-year-old man was diagnosed with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) by biopsy on the left kidney 11 years ago. He had been receiving hemodialysis for end-stage kidney disease from CGN since 10 years ago.

Diffusion-weighted imaging of an atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor of the cervical spine.

Spinal atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare, aggressive malignant neoplasm of the central nervous system usually seen in young children and infants. We present diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings for an intradural extramedullary AT/RT in the cervical spine of a 6-year-old boy. High signal on DWI and low apparent diffusion coefficients may represent high cellularity of the tumor.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 expression in pelvic lymph nodes predicts the risk of cancer progression after radical prostatectomy.

Recent studies suggest that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) 1-positive hematopoietic progenitor cells precede the arrival of tumor cells and form clusters that may portend sites of future metastatic disease. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether VEGFR1 expression in pelvic lymph nodes predicts the risk of prostate cancer progression after radical prostatectomy. VEGFR1 expression in pelvic lymph nodes was examined by immunohistochemistry in 95 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer.

Specific detection of prostate cancer cells in urine by multiplex immunofluorescence cytology.

Prostate cancer biomarkers are enriched in urine after prostatic manipulation, suggesting that whole cells might also be detectable for diagnosis. We tested multiplex staining of urinary sediments as a minimally invasive method to detect prostate cancer. Urine samples were collected from 35 men who had prostatic massage (attentive digital rectal examination) in a urology clinic and from 15 control men without urologic disease and without massage, for a total of 50 specimens (27 cancer-positive cases and 23 cancer-negative cases).

Effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d on testicular morphology and gene expression in experimental cryptorchid mouse: testis specific cDNA microarray analysis and potential implication in male infertility.

Purpose: We evaluated the morphological effect and alterations in gene expression caused by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D treatment in the mouse testis undergoing experimental cryptorchidism and subsequent orchiopexy.

Materials And Methods: The mean modified Johnsen score and testicular weight were estimated after 4 weeks of treatment with a 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D prodrug. We examined sites of vitamin D receptor and mRNA expression, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D analogue accumulation in the mouse testis.

Endoglin (CD105) as a urinary and serum marker of prostate cancer.

We have previously shown that endoglin (CD105) is upregulated in prostatic fluid of men with large volume prostate cancer. We chose to assess endoglin levels in urine and serum from men with prostate cancer or at increased risk for the disease: Urine samples were collected after digital rectal examination (DRE) from 99 men whose cancer status was confirmed by biopsy, and serum samples were collected from 20 men without prostate cancer at low risk for the disease and from 69 men diagnosed with prostate cancer that subsequently underwent radical prostatectomy (30 pT2, 39 pT3). Endoglin levels were assessed by ELISA.

Urological surgery in patients aged 80 years and older: a 30-year retrospective clinical study.

Objectives: To investigate changes in the management of cases over time, we undertook a retrospective analysis of urological surgeries carried out in patients aged 80 years and older in a single institution over the last 30 years.

Methods: Between 1975 and 2004, 402 patients aged 80 years and older underwent 412 surgeries in our department. We reviewed the clinical records and analyzed changes in clinical data over time.

Effects of adiponectin on growth and differentiation of human keratinocytes--implication of impaired wound healing in diabetes.

Impaired wound healing is one of the most common complications associated with diabetes. Adiponectin is an abundant circulating adipocyte-derived cytokine that has beneficial effects on disorders accompanying diabetes. Herein we report that adiponectin has a regulatory effect on the growth and differentiation of HaCaT human keratinocyte cells.

Effect of human leukemia cells in testicular tissues grafted into immunodeficient mice.

Objectives: To preserve the fertility of prepubertal boys with childhood cancer, it has been proposed that testicular tissues could be harvested before treatment and then immature germ cells matured by xenografting under the skin of immunodeficient mice. However, malignant cells present in the testicular tissue may disturb spermatogenesis in the xenografts. Here we examined the effect of human leukemia cells on ectopic xenografts in immunodeficient mice.

Diffusion-weighted imaging of retroperitoneal malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1.

We present the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings for a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor arising in a retroperitoneal plexiform neurofibroma in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1. Signal intensity of the malignant area was high on DWI and low on the apparent diffusion coefficient map and differed from findings for the benign area. DWI enabled clear differentiation between malignant and benign areas of the tumor.

Cytokine profiling of prostatic fluid from cancerous prostate glands identifies cytokines associated with extent of tumor and inflammation.

Background: Cytokines are key mediators of inflammation that may relate to prostate cancer initiation and progression, and that may be useful markers of prostatic neoplasia and related inflammation. In order to better understand the relationship between cytokines and prostate cancer, we profiled cytokines in prostatic fluids obtained from cancerous prostate glands and correlated them to both cancer status and inflammatory grade.

Methods: Prostatic fluid was collected from fresh radical prostatectomy specimens and analyzed by cytokine antibody microarray.

Endocrine and radiological studies in patients with molecularly confirmed CHARGE syndrome.

Context: CHARGE syndrome is a complex of congenital malformations, and CHD7 has been reported as a major gene involved in the etiology.

Objective: We performed endocrine and radiological studies to determine whether endocrinological disorders such as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, GH deficiency, or hypothyroidism are involved and also whether olfactory bulb hypoplasia and semicircular canal aplasia are major signs in patients with molecularly confirmed CHARGE syndrome.

Design: Clinical features, endocrinological assessments, and radiological abnormalities in eight children (five boys and three girls) whose molecular analyses were available were evaluated among 15 children clinically diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome at our institute.

Prostatic stem cell marker identified by cDNA microarray in mouse.

Purpose: Identifying prostatic stem cells is important to elucidate the mechanisms by which the prostate develops and control prostate cancer. We recently reported that the proximal region of the mouse prostate contains a population of stem cells. However, to our knowledge the specific marker of stem cells in the proximal region remains unknown.

Isolation of germ cells from leukemia and lymphoma cells in a human in vitro model: potential clinical application for restoring human fertility after anticancer therapy.

More than 70% of patients survive childhood cancer, but chemotherapy and radiation therapy may cause irreversible impairment of spermatogenesis. To treat infertility secondary to anticancer treatment for childhood cancer, we have developed a procedure to isolate germ cells from leukemic mice by fluorescence-activated cell sorting with two surface markers, and transplantation of isolated germ cells successfully restored fertility without inducing leukemia. In the present study, we analyzed human germ cells and human malignant cells, including five leukemia cell lines and three lymphoma cell lines, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting with antibodies against MHC class I and CD45.

Comparative study of Sperm Motility Analysis System and conventional microscopic semen analysis.

Conventional manual sperm analysis still shows variations in structure, process and outcome although World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines present an appropriate method for sperm analysis. In the present study a new system for sperm analysis, Sperm Motility Analysis System (SMAS), was compared with manual semen analysis based on WHO guidelines. Samples from 30 infertility patients and 21 healthy volunteers were subjected to manual microscopic analysis and SMAS analysis, simultaneously.

Brain processing of audiovisual sexual stimuli inducing penile erection: a positron emission tomography study.

Purpose: Penile erection is dependent on commands from the central nervous system. Although basic studies of animals and neuroimaging studies of humans have been conducted to identify key brain regions associated with sexual arousal, to our knowledge no reliable studies of the first excitation phase of sexual arousal leading to penile erection have been reported.

Materials And Methods: We used H(2)(15)O-positron emission tomography to analyze regional cerebral blood flow just before penile erection in heterosexual volunteers.