Significant alterations of 6-keto prostaglandin F1a and NO levels in spermatic vein plexus patients with varicocele.

To investigate the level variation of correlative factors between the spermatic vein plexus and peripheral blood in patients with varicocele, a total of 22 patients diagnosed with varicocele were enrolled in the study. All patients were performed a testicular artery-sparing microsurgical varicocelectomy. During the operation, a blood sample from the left spermatic vein plexus and a peripheral blood sample were collected. A radioimmunoassay was used to determine the 6-keto prostaglandin F1a (6-keto-PGF1a ). A colorimetric method was performed to determine the NO. The enzyme immunoassay method was used to determine the creatinine, urea nitrogen, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine and 5-HT. The mean age of all patients was 29.3 ± 7.8 years. Compared with the level of 6-keto-PGF1a and NO in the peripheral blood, 6-keto-PGF1a and NO were significantly increased in left spermatic vein plexus (347.3 (230.8-415.1) versus 99.7 (80.4-119.9) pg/ml and 192.3 ± 178.5 versus 107.1 ± 73.6 µmol/L, p < .05). There were no differences in the level of creatinine, urea nitrogen, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine and 5-HT between the peripheral blood and left spermatic vein plexus (p > .05). The 6-keto-PGF1a and NO concentrations in left spermatic vein plexus were significantly higher than that in peripheral blood patients with varicocele.

LncRNA MALAT1 promotes proliferation and metastasis in epithelial ovarian cancer via the PI3K-AKT pathway.

OBJECTIVE: The metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that plays a key role in the malignant phenotype of tumors. Although abnormal regulation of lncRNA MALAT1 impacts clinical prognostic and tumor metastasis, its function remains unclear in ovarian cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected 64 samples of surgical EOC tissues and 30 samples of normal ovarian tissues at the Department of Gynecology of Harbin Medical University (Harbin, China). The 30 control samples of ovarian surface epithelial tissues were obtained from patients diagnosed with uterine fibroids and scheduled hysterectomy with oophorectomy. RESULTS: The present study discovered that MALAT1 was upregulated in tumor tissues and ovarian cancer cell lines. Further, the 5-year overall survival was higher in the lower expression of the MALAT1 group. MALAT1 inhibition impeded cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, and promoted cell apoptosis in both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, silencing of MALAT1 hindered the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes and MMPS. The evidence showed that MALAT1 induce EMT via PI3K/AKT pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our research suggests that MALAT1 transforms metastasis in EOC and may be a prospective therapeutic target.

Significant alterations of serum hormone levels in the spermatic vein plexus of patients with varicoceles.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of hormone variation between the peripheral blood and spermatic vein plexus in patients with varicoceles. A total of 23 patients diagnosed with varicoceles were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent a testicular artery-sparing microsurgical varicocelectomy. During the operation, a blood sample from the ipsilateral spermatic vein plexus and a peripheral blood sample were collected. A radioimmunoassay was performed to determine the total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and oestradiol levels. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to determine the albumin level. The mean age of the patients was 32.3 ± 9.3 years. Compared with the hormone level in the peripheral blood, the total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and oestrogen levels were significantly increased in the left or right spermatic vein plexus (P < 0.05). There were no differences in the albumin levels in the peripheral blood and spermatic vein plexus (P > 0.05). The mean total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and oestradiol levels in the left spermatic vein plexus were 10.8-fold, 29.0-fold, 2.0-fold, and 26.6-fold those of the peripheral blood. The hormone concentration in the spermatic vein plexus was significantly higher than that in the peripheral blood in patients with varicoceles.

First Report of Gliocephalotrichum bulbilium Causing Fruit Rot of Posthavest Mangosteen in China.

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L., Guttiferae) is a tropical fruit renowned for its pleasant taste, rich nutrition, and medicinal value. Little research about mangosteen diseases during storage and transport has been reported. In June of 2012, fruit rots on mangosteens imported from Thailand were observed in Guangzhou, China. In infected fruits, pericarps showed an increased firmness, were discolored to deep pink, and the edible aril became brown and rotten. In order to search for the etiological agent of this rot symptom, infected mangosteens were analyzed. Diseased mangosteen tissues were surface-sterilized with 70% alcohol, then with 0.1% HgCl2, dipped in sterilized water three times, and placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 26°C. The fungi isolated from tissues of the pericarp and aril were similar in morphology and grew rapidly, covering the plate surface (9 mm diameter) after 2 to 3 days of incubation at 26°C. The morphological characters of 10 single-spore isolates were observed. These isolates showed light yellow to light brown fertile colonies on PDA. On corn meal agar (CMA), conidiophores were erect, arising from wide hyphae; they were composed of a basal stipe ending in a penicillate conidiogenous apparatus with directly subtending sterile stipe extensions ranging from 74.5 to 195.0 µm long. Conidia were unicellular, smooth, oblong to elliptical, 6.3 to 8.5 × 2.5 to 3.0 µm, and accumulated in a mucilaginous mass. Chlamydospores were multicellular, dark brown, regular in shape and thick-walled, and 40.0 to 52.5 µm in diameter. On the basis of these morphological characters, these isolates were identified as Gliocephalotrichum bulbilium (2). To confirm the identity of this fungus, genomic DNA of two isolates was extracted, and fragments of ITS region and ß-tubulin gene were amplified by PCR, sequenced, and compared with sequences of Gliocephalotrichum species available in NCBI GenBank. Both DNA regions (GenBank Accession Nos. KF716166 and KF716168) had sequence similarities of 99% and 97%, respectively, to other G. bulbilium sequences at GenBank. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on three detached fruits for two isolates. Fruits were inoculated using 5-mm mycelial disks with conidia taken from 3-day-old cultures of G. bulbilium isolate Gb1 and Gb10 grown on PDA. Controls were inoculated with PDA disks only. All treated fruits were kept individually in a humid chamber at 26°C. Tests were repeated twice. Three days after inoculation, white mycelial growth for Gb was observed at inoculation sites. Eight days after inoculation, mycelium of Gb nearly covered the fruit, causing fruit rot, and the pericarp became hard and light in color. The control fruit did not rot. G. bulbilium was re-isolated from diseased plant tissue, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. G. bulbilium has been reported causing postharvest fruit rot of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) and guava (Psidium guajava) in some locations (3,4). Moreover, the fungus caused cranberry fruit rot in the United States (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of G. bulbilium causing postharvest fruit rot of mangosteen in China. It is uncertain whether the fungus infected mangosteen in Thailand and was carried to China due to commercial relationship. References: (1) C. Constantelos et al. Plant Dis. 95:618, 2011. (2) C. Decock et al. Mycologia 98:488, 2006. (3) L. M. Serrato-Diaz et al. Plant Dis. 96:1225, 2012. (4) A. Sivapalan et al. Australas. Plant Pathol. 27:274, 1998.