Stem cells for the treatment of Peyronie's disease / 中华男科学杂志

Peyronie's disease (PD) is a connective tissue disorder characterized as fibrotic plaque localized in the tunica albuginea (TA), and its pathomechanism remains obscure. Endeavors are being made to explore effective and minimally invasive therapeutic strategies for PD, and some experimental studies have verified the preventative and therapeutic effects of stem cells (SC), especially adipose tissue-derived SCs (ADSC), on this disease and excavated some of their action mechanisms. Some scholars attempted the integration of SCs with graft tissues, aiming at the improvement of TA grafting and reconstruction. The only publicly available clinical trial of SC therapy for PD was encouraging, and further on-coming relevant researches are expected with simultaneous optimization of the scheme. In a word, the application of SCs in the prevention and treatment of PD is a promising topic for clinical research, and there remain quite a lot of unknowns to be explored. This article summarizes the existing researches in this field.

Clinical Curative Efficacy of Lenalidomide Combined with Chemotherapy for Acute Leukemia and Its Impact on VEGF / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical efficacy of regimen consisting of lenalidomide combined with chemotherapy for acute leukemia and its impact on vascular endothilial growth factor (vEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and to analyze the relationship lenalidomide with therapeutic efficacy of leukemia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (except M3) from October 2013 to October 2014 in our hospital were randomly divided into 2 groups: chemotherapy+placebo (CP) group and lenalidomide+chemotherapy (LC) group. In addition, healthy persons were used as healthy controls (HC). The expression of VEGF and bFGF was detected by ELISA, and the therapeutic efficacy for AML patients was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The therapeutic efficacy in LC group and CP group was 87.9% and 77.2% respectively. Before treatment, the VEGF level in LC and CP groups was obviously higher than that in HC group; after treatment, the VEGF level significanthy decreased, and the decreased degree in LC group was larger than that in CP group. Before treatment, the bFGF level in LC and CP groups was higher than that in HC group; after treatment, the bFGF level decreased, and decreased degree in LC group was larger than that in CP group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The lenalidomide combined with chemotherapy can significantly decrease the expression level of VEGF and bFGF, and enhance the remission rate of patients with AML.</p>

Human foreskin acellular matrix graft: a good scaffold for urethral tissue engineering / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To provide evidence of using the human foreskin acellular matrix graft for urethral tissue engineering. METH-ODS: The human foreskin acellular matrix graft was prepared, its safety and biocompatibility as urethral material were determined by histological observation, cytotoxicity test using primary epithelial cells and experiment in vivo.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Intact cells were absent from the foreskin acellular matrix graft. The cytotoxicity test showed that the relative growth rate of the cells was between 75% and 99%, and the cytotoxicity of the foreskin acellular matrix graft was grade 1, consistent with the national standard. With the lengthening of time, the foreskin acellular matrix graft became perfectly compatible with the urothelial cells and the urethral multi-layer structure was restored to normal gradually.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The human foreskin acellular matrix graft, with its low antigenicity and good biocompatibility, could be a good scaffold for urethral tissue engineering.</p>

Snodgrass technique, Duckett repair and bladder mucosa grafting for hypospadias: an analysis of 251 cases / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To present the experience in using the Snodgrass technique, Duckett repair and bladder mucosa grafting for hypospadias.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively reviewed 251 cases of middle and posterior hypospadias treated by the Snodgrass technique, Duckett repair and bladder mucosa grafting from February 1997 to December 2008.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The success rates of the Snodgrass technique, Duckett repair and bladder mucosa grafting were 80.3% (53/66) , 76% (19/25) and 78.9% (15/19) for middle hypospadias and 68. 3% (41/60) , 63.6% (14/22) and 88. 1% (52/59) for the posterior type without statistical significant differences (all P > 0.05). Bladder mucosa grafting showed a significantly higher success rate than the other two procedures in either one-stage or two-stage surgical repair of posterior hypospadias (P < 0.05). Duckett repair achieved a significantly higher rate of success in children under 14 years than in the older ones (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Of the three surgical options, bladder mucosa grafting is the most suitable for posterior hypospadias, and Duckett repair is recommended for children under 14 years of age.</p>

Expressions of ATF3 and CTGF and their regulation by estradiol in the prepuce of hypospadias patients / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Estrogen is closely associated with hypospadias. The present study was to explore the molecular mechanism of hypospadias caused by estradiol.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fibroblasts obtained from the prepuce of hypospadiac and normal children were cultured in vitro and treated with 17-beta ethinyl estradiol (17-EE) at the concentrations of 1 micromol/L to 0.1 nmol/L for 2 hours, or at 0.1 micromol/L for 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 hours. MTT assay was used to evaluate the effect of 17-EE on the proliferation of the cells, and RT-PCR was employed to detect the expressions of the activating transcription factor-3 (ATF3) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in the hypospadiac tissue. The results were compared with those obtained from the nonhypospadiac tissue.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expressions of ATF3 and CTGF were significantly upregulated in the hypospadiac tissue as compared with the nonhypospadiac group. At the concentration of 1 micromol/L, 17-EE significantly inhibited the proliferation of the cells. ATF3 mRNA was elevated at 1-2 hours, while CTGF mRNA showed no significant changes in 24 hours.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ATF3 and CTGF are two candidate genes involved in the etiology of hypospadias. And estradiol may induce hypospadias by upregulating the expressions of ATF3 and CTGF.</p>