Effects of Granulocyte Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) on the Interleukin-6 Expression in the Prostate Cancer Cell Line PC-3 / 대한비뇨기과학회지

PURPOSE: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) can stimulate a variety of tumors including prostatic carcinoma. Research has recently shown that IL-6 may act to stimulate the progression of prostatic cancer. IL-6 is elevated in the sera of patients with metastatic prostatic cancer and it has been shown to be a candidate marker of disease activity. To date, little work has been performed to characterize the nature of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and the expression of IL-6. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of GM-CSF on the expression of IL-6 in PC-3 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The bone-derived PC-3 cell line was used in this study. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect the GM-CSF and also the IL-6 mRNA expression. The IL-6 protein was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after treatments with the hGM-CSF. RESULTS: hGM-CSF was expressed in the PC-3 cell line. Our data indicated that the IL-6 mRNA expression was not increased at 4, 8 and 12 hours by the hGM-CSF in comparison to the control group, but it was slightly increased at 24 and 48 hours. The expression of IL-6 protein was increased at 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 hours after hGM-CSF treatment, in comparison with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The IL-6 mRNA expression was slightly increased by hGM-CSF at 24 and 48 hours in comparison to the control group. Yet the IL-6 protein expression increased before the IL-6 mRNA expression. Therefore, hGM-CSF may modulate the post-transcription pathway of the IL-6 expression in prostate carcinoma cells. Our data suggest that GM-CSF may have a possible IL-6 mediated pathophysiologic role in prostate cancer.

The Risk Factors of Ureteral Stricture after Treatment for Ureteral Calculi / 대한비뇨기과학회지

PURPOSE: After treatment of ureteral calculi, some patients will develop ureteral stricture at the identical site of the calculi. Therefore, we have retrospectively evaluated the records of patients who had been treated for ureteral calculi to determine the risk factors that lead to the development of ureteral stricture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1995 and July 2004, 2,083 patients visited Chung-Ang University Hospital for treatment of ureteral calculi. They underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL, 2,263 patients), ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL, 219 patients), laparoscopic ureterolithotomy or open ureterolithotomy (321 patients). Among these patients, 18 developed ureteral stricture at the identical site of the calculus, and they were managed by ureteroplasty or balloon dilatation. To define the risk factors of ureteral stricture, we examined the stone size, impaction of stone, the degree of hydronephrosis and the method of calculi treatment. RESULTS: The ureterolithotomy or laparoscopic ureterolithotomy (1.25%) that required ureterotomy was most common cause of ureteral stricture. The secondary common cause of the ureteral stricture was URSL (0.91%) and the third was ESWL (0.53%). The degree of hydronephrosis didn't affect the formation of ureteral stricture (p> 0.05). The stones larger than 1cm developed more frequent ureteral stricture than the stones smaller than 1cm (> 1cm: 0.31%, < or = 1cm: 1.39%, p=0.0022). The impacted stone developed more frequent ureteral stricture than the non-impacted stone (impacted stone 1.28%, non-impacted stone 0.13%, p=0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Ureterolithotomy and laparoscopic ureterolithotomy led to the development of more frequent ureteral stricture than did URSL or ESWL. Therefore, ureterotomy was the main risk factor for developing ureteral stricture after the treatment of ureteral calculi. The stone larger than 1cm in diameter and the impacted stone were confirmed as the main risk factors of ureteral stricture after the treatment for ureteral calculi.