ZMIZ1 preferably enhances the transcriptional activity of androgen receptor with short polyglutamine tract.

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-induced transcription factor and contains the polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts within its N-terminal transactivation domain. The length of polyQ tracts has been suggested to alter AR transcriptional activity in prostate cancer along with other endocrine and neurologic disorders. Here, we assessed the role of ZMIZ1, an AR co-activator, in regulating the activity of the AR with different lengths of polyQ tracts as ARQ9, ARQ24, and ARQ35 in prostate cancer cells.

The leucine zipper putative tumor suppressor 2 protein LZTS2 regulates kidney development.

Members of the leucine zipper putative tumor suppressor (LZTS) family play crucial roles in transcription modulation and cell cycle control. We previously demonstrated that LZTS2 functions as a novel β-catenin-interacting protein and represses β-catenin-mediated transcription on T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancing factor. Here, we investigate the biological role of LZTS2 using newly established Lzts2 KO mice.

Melanoma of the penis with scintigraphically-guided sentinel node biopsy.

Melanoma of the penis is an uncommon cancer. We present the case of a 73-year-old male with penile melanoma and non palpable lymph nodes. Lymphoscintigraphy was applied to locate the sentinel lymph nodes for dissection.

Efficacy of c-Met inhibitor for advanced prostate cancer.

Background: Aberrant expression of HGF/SF and its receptor, c-Met, often correlates with advanced prostate cancer. Our previous study showed that expression of c-Met in prostate cancer cells was increased after attenuation of androgen receptor (AR) signalling. This suggested that current androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer activates c-Met expression and may contribute to development of more aggressive, castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Evaluation of asymptomatic, atraumatic hematuria in children and adults.

Asymptomatic, atraumatic hematuria is a worrisome clinical sign for a patient that usually prompts a visit to a urologist. Hematuria is classified as microscopic versus gross; the evaluation for gross hematuria differs from that for microscopic hematuria, and the most important differentiating factor is the patient's age. The major causes of hematuria differ between children and adults, and the evaluation should reflect this.

Gross hematuria from an ileal conduit as a first presentation of portal hypertension.

Background: A 76-year-old man who underwent cystoprostatectomy with ileal conduit urinary diversion for muscle-invasive bladder cancer presented to his urologist 4 years later with episodes of spontaneous gross hematuria filling his ostomy bag with fresh clots.

Investigations: Physical examination, urine culture, urine cytology, peripheral smear, complete blood count, loopogram, CT-intravenous pyelogram, loop endoscopy, bilateral ureteroscopy, liver function tests, CT angiography, (99m)Tc-tagged red cell scan, hepatitis panel, measurement of transjugular wedge pressure, transjugular liver biopsy with pathologic analysis and re-evaluation of CT angiogram.

Diagnosis: Hematuria secondary to portal hypertension.

A case of prostatic adenocarcinoma recurrence presenting as ductal carcinoma of the prostate.

Background: A 61-year-old man with a history of recurrent prostate cancer presented with obstructive urinary symptoms. He had been diagnosed with locally invasive adenocarcinoma of the prostate 10 years previously and treated with neoadjuvant hormonal and external beam radiation therapies. Because of the patient's rising PSA level, he had been started on goserelin 6 years after this diagnosis and bicalutamide 6 months before the current presentation.

An allograft model of androgen independent prostatic neuroendocrine carcinoma derived from a large probasin promoter-T antigen transgenic mouse line.

Purpose: Animal models that mimic this hormone refractory prostate cancer may be useful for developing and testing novel treatment strategies.

Materials And Methods: Using the prostate of the 12T-10 transgenic mouse an allograft model was established by transplantation into a nude mouse. To our knowledge we describe the first allograft model derived from the primary prostate tumor of a transgenic mouse.

The loss of TGF-beta signaling promotes prostate cancer metastasis.

In breast and colon cancers, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta signaling initially has an antineoplastic effect, inhibiting tumor growth, but eventually exerts a proneoplastic effect, increasing motility and cancer spread. In prostate cancer, studies using human samples have correlated the loss of the TGF-beta type II receptor (T beta R II) with higher tumor grade. To determine the effect of an inhibited TGF-beta pathway on prostate cancer, we bred transgenic mice expressing the tumorigenic SV40 large T antigen in the prostate with transgenic mice expressing a dominant negative T beta R II mutant (DN II R) in the prostate.