The role of LIM and SH3 protein-1 in bladder cancer metastasis.

The LIM and SH3 protein-1 (LASP-1) is a multi-domain protein that is involved in several malignant cancers. The role of LASP-1 in malignant phenotypes including high invasive properties and unrestricted cell proliferation, remain to be elucidated. The present study reported the association of LASP-1 expression with bladder cancer malignancy and its role in cancer cell invasion and proliferation.

The influence of serum uric acid on renal function in patients with calcium or uric acid stone: A population-based analysis.

Objectives: To determine the influence of serum uric acid (UA) levels on renal impairment in patients with UA stone.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 463 patients with calcium oxalate and/or calcium phosphate stones (CaOx/CaP), and 139 patients with UA stones. The subjects were divided into the serum UA-high (UA ≥ 7.

Clinical relevance of aortic calcification in urolithiasis patients.

Background: The aim of the present study is to investigate the clinical relevance of aortic calcification in urolithiasis patients.

Methods: Between January 2010 and September 2014, 1221 patients with urolithiasis were treated in Oyokyo Kidney Research Institute and Hirosaki University Hospital. Among these, 287 patients (Stone group) on whom adequate data were available were included in this retrospective study.

Aortic calcification burden predicts deterioration of renal function after radical nephrectomy.

Background: Radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the possibility of postoperative deterioration of renal function must be considered before surgery. We investigated the contribution of the aortic calcification index (ACI) to the prediction of deterioration of renal function in patients undergoing radical nephrectomy.

Methods: Between January 1995 and December 2012, we performed 511 consecutive radical nephrectomies for patients with RCC.

A mechanism for evasion of CTL immunity by altered O-glycosylation of HLA class I.

Anti-tumour immunity by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) is essential to suppress tumour progression. Cancer cells that evade CTL immunity proliferate in the host, promoting metastasis, but mechanisms underlying this capacity remain unknown. Here we report that bladder cancer cells metastasized to lymph nodes evade CTL immunity by a new mechanism via altered glycosylation.

Vimentin intermediate filament and plectin provide a scaffold for invadopodia, facilitating cancer cell invasion and extravasation for metastasis.

To investigate the molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis, we have isolated a high-metastatic bladder cancer cell subpopulation from a low-metastatic cell line by using an in vivo selection system. Cells in the subpopulation showed a high ability to form invadopodia, the filamentous actin (F-actin)-based membrane protrusions that play an essential role in cancer cell invasion. Analysis of the gene expression profile revealed that the expression of an intermediate filament (IF) protein, vimentin and a cytoskeletal linker protein, plectin was up-regulated in the high-metastatic subpopulation compared with the low metastatic cell line.

Invadopodia are essential in transurothelial invasion during the muscle invasion of bladder cancer cells.

Muscle invasive bladder cancer is an aggressive type of epithelial tumor with a high rate of metastasis. For bladder cancer cells to reach the muscle layer, cells must invade through an urothelial cell monolayer (transurothelial invasion) and basement membrane. However, the process by which transurothelial invasion occurs has not been fully characterized.

Extravasation during bladder cancer metastasis requires cortactin‑mediated invadopodia formation.

Invasive cancer cells form the filamentous actin‑based membrane protrusions known as invadopodia. Invadopodia are thought to play a critical role in cancer cell invasion and metastasis due to their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix. The present study assessed whether invadopodia formation is essential in extravasation of circulating bladder cancer cells and lung metastasis.

Serum N-glycan profiling predicts prognosis in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of serum N-glycan profiling for prognosis in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: Serum N-glycan analysis was performed in 100 hemodialysis patients in June 2008 using the glycoblotting method, which allows high-throughput, comprehensive, and quantitative N-glycan analysis. All patients were longitudinally followed up for 5 years.

Prognosis of elderly Japanese patients aged ≥80 years undergoing hemodialysis.

Although the number of elderly patients requiring dialysis has increased, data regarding the prognosis of elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis are limited. In the present study, prognosis in Japanese hemodialysis patients aged ≥80 years was evaluated. From January 1988 to July 2013, 1144 consecutive patients with end-stage renal disease required renal replacement therapy at our institution; of these, 141 were aged ≥80 years.

Switching hemodialysis patients from sevelamer hydrochloride to bixalomer: a single-center, non-randomized analysis of efficacy and effects on gastrointestinal symptoms and metabolic acidosis.

Background: Bixalomer (BXL) was developed to improve gastrointestinal symptoms and reduce constipation, relative to sevelamer hydrochloride, in hemodialysis patients. We prospectively evaluated the safety and effectiveness of switching maintenance dialysis patients from sevelamer hydrochloride to BXL.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients were switched from sevelamer hydrochloride to BXL (1:1 dose) from July to October 2012, whereas 84 randomly selected patients not treated with sevelamer hydrochloride were enrolled as a control group.

In vivo selection of high-metastatic subline of bladder cancer cell and its characterization.

The majority of deaths associated with solid tumors are caused by tumor metastasis. To prevent metastasis, it is vital to understand its detailed process. In hematogenous metastasis of bladder cancer, some cancer cells disseminating into blood circulation extravasate into the lung tissues to form metastases.

Core2 O-glycan-expressing prostate cancer cells are resistant to NK cell immunity.

Core2 β-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT) forms an N-acetylglucosamine branch in the O-glycans (core2 O-glycans) of cell surface glycoproteins. We previously revealed that the expression of C2GnT is positively correlated with poor prognosis in prostate cancer patients. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying their poor prognosis remain unclear.

MUC1 carrying core 2 O-glycans functions as a molecular shield against NK cell attack, promoting bladder tumor metastasis.

Core 2 β-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT) forms an N-acetylglucosamine branch in O-glycans (core 2 O-glycans) of cell surface glycoproteins. C2GnT-expressing bladder tumors acquire highly metastatic phenotypes by surviving longer in host blood circulation. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying this increased survival remain unclear.

Effect of an Oral Adsorbent, AST-120, on Dialysis Initiation and Survival in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

The oral adsorbent AST-120 has the potential to delay dialysis initiation and improve survival of patients on dialysis. We evaluated the effect of AST-120 on dialysis initiation and its potential to improve survival in patients with chronic kidney disease. The present retrospective pair-matched study included 560 patients, grouped according to whether or not they received AST-120 before dialysis (AST-120 and non-AST-120 groups).

Efficacy of SMART Stent Placement for Salvage Angioplasty in Hemodialysis Patients with Recurrent Vascular Access Stenosis.

Vascular access stenosis is a major complication in hemodialysis patients. We prospectively observed 50 patients in whom 50 nitinol shape-memory alloy-recoverable technology (SMART) stents were used as salvage therapy for recurrent peripheral venous stenosis. Twenty-five stents each were deployed in native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) and synthetic arteriovenous polyurethane graft (AVG) cases.

Clearance and safety of the radiocontrast medium iopamidol in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Although the characteristics and safety of radiocontrast media in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients are not yet well defined, their use in PD patients is considered generally safe. In this study, we evaluated clearance and adverse events of iopamidol in PD patients. We measured the iopamidol concentration in the plasma, dialysate, and urine of 11 patients.

A novel strategy for evasion of NK cell immunity by tumours expressing core2 O-glycans.

The O-glycan branching enzyme, core2 β-1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT), forms O-glycans containing an N-acetylglucosamine branch connected to N-acetylgalactosamine (core2 O-glycans) on cell-surface glycoproteins. Here, we report that upregulation of C2GnT is closely correlated with progression of bladder tumours and that C2GnT-expressing bladder tumours use a novel strategy to increase their metastatic potential. Our results showed that C2GnT-expressing bladder tumour cells are highly metastatic due to their high ability to evade NK cell immunity and revealed the molecular mechanism of the immune evasion by C2GnT expression.

Requirement for FBP17 in invadopodia formation by invasive bladder tumor cells.

Purpose: Invadopodia (protrusions of the plasma membrane formed by invasive tumor cells) have an essential role in bladder tumor invasion. To understand the process of bladder tumor invasion it is crucial to investigate the molecular mechanisms of invadopodia formation. We found that invasive bladder tumor cells express FBP17.

Invadopodia formation by bladder tumor cells.

A major cause of death in patients with bladder tumors is recurrence with metastasis. Bladder tumor metastasis is largely dependent upon the invasive capacity of tumor cells. Tumor cell invasion is mainly mediated by actin-rich protrusive membrane structures called invadopodia.

Hepatoid carcinoma of the skin: spontaneous rat skin hepatoid carcinoma with eosinophilic globules and crystals immunoreactive to alpha-1-antitrypsin.

We present a case of hepatoid carcinoma of the abdominal skin in a male Wistar rat. Histopathologically, this carcinoma resembled human hepatocellular carcinoma with respect to trabecular-sinusoidal structures. Carcinoma tissues contain numerous eosinophilic globules and crystals, and in this case, we found the characteristic eosinophilic globules in the hepatoid carcinoma cells and the crystals in the extracellular portions.

FBP17 Mediates a Common Molecular Step in the Formation of Podosomes and Phagocytic Cups in Macrophages.

Macrophages act to protect the body against inflammation and infection by engaging in chemotaxis and phagocytosis. In chemotaxis, macrophages use an actin-based membrane structure, the podosome, to migrate to inflamed tissues. In phagocytosis, macrophages form another type of actin-based membrane structure, the phagocytic cup, to ingest foreign materials such as bacteria.

Progression of atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients: effect of adiponectin on carotid intima media thickness.

Aim: We investigated the parameters related to the progression of common carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Methods: IMT was examined in 85 patients by ultrasonography at baseline and after 12 months. The difference in IMT between these two time points was calculated (DeltaIMT).

Carotid intima media thickness and aortic calcification index closely relate to cerebro- and cardiovascular disorders in hemodialysis patients.

Aim: Atherosclerosis can be evaluated by carotid intima media thickness (IMT), the aortic calcification index (ACI), and pulse wave velocity (PWV). We investigated which test was most closely related to cerebro- and cardiovascular disorders (CCVD) in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: Maximum IMT (max-IMT), ACI, and PWV were examined in 110 hemodialysis patients, using carotid ultrasonography, abdominal CT and a blood pressure pulse wave instrument, respectively.