LINC00649 Facilitates the Cellular Process of Bladder Cancer Cells via Signaling Axis miR-16-5p/JARID2.

Bladder cancer (BC), as one of the most common cancers around the world, begins in the inner side of the bladder and is inclined to spread to the remaining parts of the body. Extensive documents have shown that long noncoding RNAs function as stimuli in various cancer types. With regard to LINC00649, there is limited investigation on its role previously. In our research, we discovered that LINC00649 was considerably highly expressed in BC cells and the lack of LINC00649 would cause inactivity in cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. miR-16-5p turned out to be competitively incorporated by LINC00649 in the upstream or JARID2 downstream. In BC cells, LINC00649 was found to bind with miR-16-5p to increase the expression of JARID2. Overly expressed JARID2 was found to reverse the LINC00649 shortage-mediated suppressive impacts on the cellular process of BC cells. Concisely, it was the first study on the molecular mechanism of LINC00649 in BC. This work detected that LINC00649 enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of BC cells by acting as a sponge of miR-16-5p and upregulating JARID2, providing novel insight into understating BC.

Trimethyltin (TMT) Reduces Testosterone Production in Adult Leydig Cells in Rats.

Trimethyltin (TMT) is widely used as a plastic heat stabilizer and can cause severe toxicity. Here, the effects of TMT on testosterone production by adult Leydig cells and the related mechanisms of action were investigated. Eighteen adult male Sprague Dawley rats (56 days old) were randomly divided into 3 groups and given intraperitoneal injection of TMT for 21 consecutive days at the doses of 0 (vehicle control), 5, or 10 mg/kg/d. After treatment, trunk blood was collected for hormonal analysis. In addition, related gene and protein expression in testes was detected. At 10 mg/kg, TMT significantly reduced serum testosterone levels but increased serum luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormone levels. The messenger RNA and protein levels of luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 17-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase, follicle-stimulating hormone receptor, and SRY box 9 were significantly lower in the TMT-treated testes than in controls. Immunohistochemical study showed that TMT decreased adult Leydig cell number. In conclusion, these findings indicate that TMT reduced adult Leydig cell testosterone production in vivo by directly downregulating the expression of steroidogenic enzymes and decreasing adult Leydig cell number in the testis.

[Penile metastasis from rectal carcinoma: a case report and literature review].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the diagnosis and treatment of penile metastasis from rectal carcinoma. METHODS: We reported a case of penile metastasis secondary to rectal adenocarcinoma, reviewed the relevant literature, and discussed the common origins, clinical features, pathogenic mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of this disease. RESULTS: The patient was a 54-year-old male, with metastatic penile tumors secondary to rectal adenocarcinoma, with serious adhesion to the surrounding tissue and metastasis to the liver. As treatment, we performed colostomy to relieve voiding difficulty, followed by combination chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and levofolinate. The patient died 10 months later as a result of systemic failure. CONCLUSION: Penile metastatic malignancy has a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis and combined and individualized therapies may improve the quality of life, relieve pain and prolong the life of the patient.

[Tumor necrosis factor alpha-308 polymorphism and asthenospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between -308 genotype polymorphism in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) gene and asthenospermia in infertile men. METHODS: Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were used to analyze the genotype at position -308 in the promoter region of the TNFalpha gene in 187 infertile male patients, who were divided into Groups A (asthenospermia, n = 60), B (oligoasthenozoospermia, n = 65) and C (infertile patients with normal sperm, n = 62). The levels of TNFalpha in the seminal plasma from these patients were measured by radioimmunoassay, and all the data were statistically analyzed by SPSS16.0. RESULTS: Groups A and B exhibited significant differences from C in the frequency of GA/AA at position 308 in the promoter region of the TNFalpha gene (21.67% and 26.15% versus 8.06%, P < 0.05). Spearman analysis showed a negative correlation between the GA + AA type of the TNFalpha-308 allele and the percentage of grade a + b sperm (r = -0.690, P < 0.05). The level of TNFalpha in the seminal plasma was significantly elevated in Groups A ([4.23 +/- 0.45] ng/ml) and B ([4.29 +/- 0.47] ng/ml) as compared with C ([4.03 +/- 0.66] ng/ml, P < 0.05), but with no significant differences between Groups A and B (P > 0.05). It was also significantly higher in the GA+AA ([4.61 +/- 0.29] ng/ml) than in the GGtype ([4.06 +/- 0.45] ng/ml, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Regardless of sperm density, the frequently of TNFalpha-308 GA/AA is negatively correlated with the percentage of grade a + b sperm, which may be associated with the level of TNFalpha in the seminal plasma. Accordingly, anti-TNFalpha therapy might be effective for asthenospermia, and the measurement of the TNFalpha level in the seminal plasma can be an auxiliary diagnostic marker for male infertility.