[Cuproptosis-related lncRNAs to predict biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a cuproptosis-related lncRNA model and obtain some new ideas and methods for predicting the biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa. METHODS: We identified cuproptosis-related lncRNAs from the gene expression data, mutation load data and clinical data on PCa patients in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and divided the patients into a training group and a verification group. We constructed a prognostic risk scoring model based on the cuproptosis -related lncRNAs, verified the validity of the model by BCR-free survival analysis, logistic regression analysis and independent prognosis analysis, and visualized the results using ROC curve analysis, Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the correlation heat map. We performed differential analysis and survival analysis of the tumor mutation burden (TMB), and assessed the value of the model and TMB in predicting the BCR of PCa. RESULTS: A prognostic risk scoring model was successfully constructed based on the 6 cuproptosis -related lncRNAs identified from the PCa cases in the training group, which were divided into a high- and a low-risk groups according to the median value. The incidence of BCR rose with the increase of the risk score, and the BCR-free time was significantly shorter in the high-risk group (P < 0.05). The model also exhibited a high differentiation value in different age groups (P < 0.05), which was shown to be a reliable and independent prognostic indicator for predicting the BCR of PCa, even more valuable than other clinicopathological indicators. TMB was differentially expressed in the high- and low-risk groups (P < 0.01) and significantly correlated with BCR. The highest rate of BCR-free survival was found in the patients with low risk scores and low TMB (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: A cuproptosis -related lncRNA model was successfully constructed, which can accurately predict the risk of BCR in PCa patients. The higher the prognostic risk score, the greater the possibility of BCR. TMB is high in patients with a high risk, and the TMB level has certain suggestive significance for BCR.

[Difference between prostate cancer patients' Gleason scores from preoperative biopsy and those from postoperative pathology].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consistency of the Gleason scores of PCa patients based on preoperative biopsy with those from postoperative pathology, identify the possible factors influencing results of scoring, and construct a risk scoring model. METHODS: We collected the demographic and clinical data on the patients with PCa confirmed by preoperative prostate biopsy or postoperative pathology and treated by radical prostatectomy within 6 months after diagnosis. Using paired sample t-test, we identified the difference between the Gleason scores based on preoperative biopsy and those from postoperative pathology, analyzed the demographic and clinical data on the patients for relevant factors affecting the consistency of the Gleason scores, and calculated and visualized the relative risk values of the factors through Poisson regression. From the continuous variables with statistical significance, we screened independent risk factors for the difference in the Gleason scores by Lasso regression analysis, established a risk scoring model, generated risk coefficients, and evaluated the predictive ability of the model using the ROC curve. Based on the results of imaging examination with statistically significant differences, we constructed a column chart by logistic regression and evaluated the predictive validity of the chart using calibration curves, decision curves and ROC curves. RESULTS: The results of paired sample t-test for 210 PCa patients showed statistically significant differences between the Gleason scores from preoperative biopsy and those from postoperative pathology (P < 0.001). There were significant differences in the body weight, BMI and PSA level as well as in all other factors but prostate calcification between the patients with consistent and those with inconsistent Gleason scores (all P < 0.05). An 8-factor prediction model was successfully constructed, which could predict the consistency of Gleason scores, with a better predicting performance than the single indicator within the model. The nomogram exhibited a C-index value of 0.85, with the calibration curve similar to the standard one, the threshold of the decision curve 0.10－0.92, and the area under the ROC curve higher than other predictive indicators. CONCLUSION: Based on the demographic and clinical data on PCa patients, a risk prediction model and a column chart were successfully constructed, which could effectively predict the difference between the Gleason scores from preoperative prostate biopsy and those from postoperative pathology.

[miR-129 in the diagnosis, treatment and prediction of clinical prognosis of prostate cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of miR-129 in the diagnosis, treatment and prediction of the clinical prognosis of PCa by observing the correlation between miR-129 and the progression of the malignancy. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 310 male patients who visited the Department of Urology of the General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command from January 2014 to January 2022, 80 as normal healthy men, 80 with BPH, and the other 150 with PCa treated by radical prostatectomy without chemotherapy, radiotherapy or androgen-deprivation therapy. We determined the miR-129 expression in the serum and prostatic tissue of all the subjects by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), performed pathological grading of the primary cancerous and pericancerous (≥ 3 cm from the focus) prostate tissues from the 150 PCa patients, collected the demographic and clinical data on all the subjects, and analyzed the correlation of their demographic data with the clinical parameters. We selected and transfected PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines with miR-129 precursor or miR-129 scramble, assessed the proliferation ability of each cell line and detected the expression levels of related proteins by cell proliferation assay and Western blot. RESULTS: The expression of miR-129 was significantly decreased in the serum of the PCa patients compared with that in the normal healthy men and BPH patients (P < 0.01), so was it in the PCa tissue in comparison with that in the pericancerous prostatic tissue (P < 0.01), and it was negatively correlated with the preoperative serum PSA level (P < 0.001), histological grade (P < 0.001), pathological stage (P < 0.001), Gleason score (P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.02), angiolymphatic invasion (P = 0.021) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) (P=0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a strong correlation of down-regulated miR-129 expression with a lower BCR-free survival rate, while multivariate survival analysis indicated that the expression of miR-129 was an independent prognostic indicator of BCR-free survival of the PCa patients (P < 0.001). Highly expressed miR-129 significantly inhibited the proliferation of PCa cells by regulating the expressions of cell cycle-regulatory proteins. CONCLUSION: The expression of miR-129 is significantly down-regulated in PCa tissues, which plays an important role in inhibiting the proliferation of PCa cells and tumor progression and improving BCR-free survival. Therefore, miR-129 can be considered as a new independent biomarker for the diagnosis, treatment and prediction of the clinical prognosis of PCa.

[Basement membrane-related gene signature to predict biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To construct and verify a key gene signature of the basement membrane of prostate cancer (PCa) to predict the progression and biochemical recurrence of the malignancy after radical prostatectomy. METHODS: Based on the PCa-related transcriptome, gene mutation and clinical data from the Cancer Genome Atlas Project (TCGA) database, we analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEG) related to the basement membrane in the PCa and adjacent normal prostate tissues, and subjected them to GO function enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. We identified prognosis-related genes from the DEGs and analyzed their mutations. According to the follow-up data and biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy, we established a prognostic risk scoring model, verified its accuracy using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and performed survival analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), independent prognostic analysis and ROC curve analysis of the model. We constructed a protein-protein interaction network after verifying the correctness of the model by immunohistochemistry. We also established a nomogram and tested its accuracy using ROC and calibration curves. RESULTS: Totally, 85 DEGs were identified, among which 18 were up-regulated and 67 down-regulated. The prognostic risk scoring model was established with 11 of the genes. The risk of biochemical recurrence PCa was significantly higher in the high-risk than in the low-risk group (HR: 3.51, 95% CI: 2.32－5.32, P < 0.01), which was verified with the GEO database data (P < 0.01). In addition, the patients in the high-risk group were older with higher clinical T-stage, higher Gleason score, higher positive rate, larger numbers of positive lymph nodes, and a larger proportion of residual tumors than those in the low-risk group (P < 0.05). The nomogram constructed with the patients' age, pN, pT and cT stages, Gleason score and prognostic risk score manifested that the area under the ROC curve was higher than the other predictors. The calibration chart showed consistency of the predicted outcomes to the actual results. CONCLUSION: A prognostic risk scoring model of basement membrane-related genes and an effective nomogram were successfully constructed, which can predict the risk of biochemical recurrence in PCa patients after radical prostatectomy.

[Erectile function of renal failure patients after hemodialysis or kidney transplantation: A comparative study].

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes in the erectile function of the male patients with renal failure after hemodialysis (HD) or kidney transplantation (KT) and explore the causes of these changes. METHODS: From January 2015 to January 2021, 160 male patients with renal failure complaining of ED underwent HD (n = 80) or KT (n = 80) in the General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command. The patients were aged 25－45 (31.7 ± 4.8) years, 32 ± 4.5 years in the HD group and 31.4 ± 5.1 years in the KT group. We recorded the levels of serum T, E2, FSH and LH and the scores on IIEF-5, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) of the patients, and compared them between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with the patients in the HD group, those in the KT group showed a significantly higher T level (ï¼»7.45 ± 3.54ï¼½ vs ï¼»17.75 ± 7.32ï¼½ nmol/L, P < 0.01) and a lower E2 level (ï¼»151.37 ± 20.89ï¼½ vs ï¼»94.17 ± 40.79ï¼½ pmol/L, P < 0.01), but no statistically significant difference from the former group in the levels of FSH (ï¼»8.12 ± 5.12ï¼½ vs ï¼»8.97 ± 2.36ï¼½ IU/L, P > 0.05) and LH (ï¼»5.16 ± 3.87ï¼½ vs ï¼»4.69 ± 2.18ï¼½ IU/L, P > 0.05). There were fewer cases of severe ED in the KT than in the HD group (3.75% vs 16.25%, P < 0.05). Different degrees of anxiety and depression were observed in both groups, with fewer severe cases of anxiety (6.25% vs 30.00%, P < 0.05) and depression (6.25% vs 31.25%, P < 0.05) and more mild cases of anxiety (68.75% vs 47.50%, P < 0.05) and depression (70.00% vs 48.75%, P < 0.05) in the KT than in the HD group, but no statistically significant difference in the incidence of moderate anxiety (25.00% vs 22.50%, P > 0.05) and depression (23.75% vs 20.00%, P > 0.05) between the KT and HD groups. CONCLUSION: For male patients with renal failure, kidney transplantation can evidently improve erectile function, while hemodialysis has a poorer effect. The altered hormone levels, anxiety and depression of the patients are important causes of the changes in their erectile function.

[Prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted drug delivery system for prostate cancer].

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a most common malignancy in the genitourinary system, which imposes a huge burden on the patients and society. Various traditional medication methods fail to achieve satisfactory effects, and therefore it is imperative to develop innovative and effective routes of administration. Drug delivery systems have the characteristics of both delivery and controlled release and are widely used clinically. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is one of the most characteristic and highly selective biomarkers of PCa with a good PCa-targetability. Many drug delivery systems targeting PSMA have been explored, including drug-ligand conjugates and nano-drug delivery systems (polymer nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, liposomes, and biological nanoparticles, etc.). This article reviews the recent studies on the role of the PSMA-targeting drug delivery system in PCa, in order to provide some reference for the precise and effective treatment of the malignancy.

[Trace elements and sperm quality: An update].

With changes in the modes of life and work, infertility is becoming a serious international problem. The incidence of infertility is 10－15% of the couples of childbearing age in China and is increasing year by year, and 30－50% of the cases are related to male factors. Trace elements refer to the chemical elements that account for less than 1/10,000 of the total weight of the human body, of which less than 100 mg is required per person per day. They are important biochemical components in the semen. Trace elements are essential for normal spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and capacitation, and maintenance of normal sperm function, though sperm quality can be affected by genetic, epigenetic, environmental and lifestyle-related factors. This focuses on the latest progress in the studies of the effects of trace elements on sperm quality.