Phenotypic modulation of bladder smooth muscle in diabetic rats / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate whether phenotypic modulation of bladder smooth muscle occurs in diabetic rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-two male SD rats were randomly assigned into diabetic group and control group. Diabetic rat models were established by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). Nine weeks later, the bladder tissues of the rats were examined for structural changes using HE and Masson's trichrome staining , and the expressions of myocardin, α-SMA, and SMMHC in bladder smooth muscles were detected with RT-PCR and Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, the diabetic rats showed obvious polydipsia and polyuria with significantly increased collagenous fibers and lowered expressions of myocardin, α-SMA, and SMMHC in the bladder tissue (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>s In rats at 9 weeks after diabetic model establishment, phenotypic transition of the bladder smooth muscles occurs to cause bladder contractile dysfunction, which may play an important role in the pathology of diabetic bladder dysfunction.</p>

Synchronous squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and squamous cell carcinoma of the ureter: report of two cases and review of literature / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinicopathological characteristics of synchronous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the renal pelvis and SCC of the ureter.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of two cases of synchronous SCC of the renal pelvis and SCC of the ureter were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. In case 1, a 68-year-old man with hematuria for a month, imaging modalities revealed a right renal pelvis tumor and a right distal ureter tumor. The patient underwent nephroureterectomy and excision of the bladder cuff. Case 2, a 60-year-old man with the complaint of lower abdominal pain and left flank pain for a month, was diagnosed as left distal ureteral stone in another hospital. Ureterolithotomy was performed and a ureteral tumor was found at the lower site of the stone intraoperatively. The pathological report demonstrated SCC, and the patient was transferred to our hospital for further treatment. We found a left renal mass invading the left hemicolon during surgery, and nephroureterectomy was performed with a bladder cuff excision, left hemicolon resection, and also complete lymph node dissection. Neither of patients received adjuvant radiotherapy/chemotherapy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Moderately differentiated SCC was reported in both of renal pelvis and ureter in case 1 and the tumor invaded the subepithelial connective tissue in the renal pelvis and superficial muscle in the ureter. In case 2, moderately differentiated SCC of the left renal pelvis with colon metastasis and poorly differentiated SCC of the ureter was reported with two retroperitoneal lymph node metastases. The two patients died from tumor recurrence and metastasis 5 and 6 months after the surgery, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Synchronous SCC of the renal pelvis and SCC of the ureter are rare and has high likeliness of early recurrence and metastasis, often with poor prognosis.</p>