CD36 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that binds to a wide range of ligands, including fatty acids (FAs), cholesterol, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2), and plays an important role in lipid metabolism, immune response, and angiogenesis. Recent studies have highlighted the role of CD36 in mediating lipid uptake by tumor-associated immune cells and in promoting tumor cell progression. In cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), CD36 regulates lipid uptake and matrix protein production to promote tumor proliferation. In addition, CD36 can promote tumor cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and induce epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). In terms of tumor angiogenesis, CD36 binding to TSP-1 and TSP-2 can both inhibit tumor angiogenesis and promote tumor migration and invasion. CD36 can promote tumor angiogenesis through vascular mimicry (VM). Overall, we found that CD36 exhibits diverse functions in tumors. Here, we summarize the recent research findings highlighting the novel roles of CD36 in the context of tumors.

ATAD2 has received extensive attention in recent years as one prospective oncogene with tumor-promoting features in many malignancies. ATAD2 is a highly conserved bromodomain family protein that exerts its biological functions by mainly AAA ATPase and bromodomain. ATAD2 acts as an epigenetic decoder and transcription factor or co-activator, which is engaged in cellular activities, such as transcriptional regulation, DNA replication, and protein modification. ATAD2 has been reported to be highly expressed in a variety of human malignancies, including gastrointestinal malignancies, reproductive malignancies, urological malignancies, lung cancer, and other types of malignancies. ATAD2 is involved in the activation of multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and is closely associated with tumorigenesis, progression, chemoresistance, and poor prognosis, but the oncogenic mechanisms vary in different cancer types. Moreover, the direct targeting of ATAD2’s bromodomain may be a very challenging task. In this review, we summarized the role of ATAD2 in various types of malignancies and pointed out the pharmacological direction.

The solute-linked carrier 26 (SLC26) protein family is comprised of multifunctional transporters of substrates that include oxalate, sulphate, and chloride. Disorders of oxalate homeostasis cause hyperoxalemia and hyperoxaluria, leading to urinary calcium oxalate precipitation and urolithogenesis. SLC26 proteins are aberrantly expressed during kidney stone formation, and consequently may present therapeutic targets. SLC26 protein inhibitors are in preclinical development. In this review, we integrate the findings of recent reports with clinical data to highlight the role of SLC26 proteins in oxalate metabolism during urolithogenesis, and discuss limitations of current studies and potential directions for future research.

Prostate cancer remains the most prevalent cancer among men worldwide; however, as a sex hormone-dependent cancer, sex hormones and their receptor signaling play an important role in the development and progression of cancer. Most current treatment options for prostate cancer thus revolve around the inhibition of androgen signaling (eg, ADT), which, although effective in the early stages, eventually progresses to treatment-resistant prostate cancer with no effective follow-up options. Recent studies have shown that among the nuclear receptor family members, in addition to androgen receptors, estrogen receptor (ER) plays an important biological function as a transcription factor and regulatory protein in various cancers, acting either directly or indirectly by forming homodimers or heterodimers with ligands. In this paper, we review the application of ER beta in animal models and in vitro experiments in the last 5 years, as well as the presence and role of some of its splice variants. We summarize the overview and update of ER beta in prostate cancer, and provide a corresponding analysis of some current research disagreements. Its crosstalk action on some important cancer growth-related signaling pathways (eg, TGF-beta and ERK), regulation of downstream target proteins (eg, nuclear translocation of EGFR and expression of oncogenic -related protein MMP-2), and interactions with related ER beta co-regulators (eg, ZFHX3), agonists, and antagonists in prostate cancer are highlighted, and the resulting effects on tumor progression are described. In addition, the paper describes its current potential clinical application as a novel therapeutic strategy and some of the challenges it faces.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between endoscopic ureteral inflammatory edema (UIE) and ureteral lumen, formulate a preliminary grading method for the severity of UIE, and analyze the impact of different grades of UIE on endoscopic ureteral calculi surgery and prognosis.Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 185 patients who underwent ureteroscopic lithotripsy (URSL) for upper urinary tract stones between January 2021 and November 2021. The UIE grade and lumen conditions were assessed by endoscopic observation. The effect of UIE grade on URSL and on patient prognosis were analyzed by multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression.Results: A total of 185 patients were included in the study. UIE grade showed a significant correlation with age, hydronephrosis grading (HG), ureteroscope placement time (UPT), surgery time (ST), hemoglobin disparity value (HDV), and postoperative ureteral stenosis (PUS) (P < 0.05). Logistics regression analysis showed a gradual increase in intraoperative UPT and ST with increase in UIE grade. The severity of UIE showed a negative correlation with improvement of postoperative hydronephrosis (IPH) and the appearance of PUS. HDV was significantly increased in patients with UIE grade 3.Conclusions: UIE grading can be used as an adjunctive clinical guide for endoscopic treatment of upper urinary tract stones. The postoperative management measures proposed in this study can help inform treatment strategy for ureteral stones.

Background: Adrenal tumours are common in urology and endocrinology, and the diagnosis of adrenal tumours were mainly depends on imaging diagnosis. Howerver, misdiagnosis can still occur for some adrenal space-occupying lesions without specific manifestations or abnormal biochemical indexes.Methods: We report the case of a 55-year-old patient with a soft-tissue mass in the left adrenal region, and have no specific manifestations or abnormalities in biochemical indexes. The patient had undergone open splenectomy 20 years ago for splenic rupture caused by traffic-accident trauma, and had a 10-year special history of hypertension. Because of the uncertain nature of the mass, surgical treatment was recommended.Results: The surgeon managed to remove the left adrenal region mass. During the surgery, the adrenal source was excluded. In the histological examination, the splenic corpuscle and splenic medullary structure were seen under the microscope, and an accessory spleen was diagnosed.Conclusions: The accessory spleen was located in the adrenal region rarely, and can easily be misdiagnosed as an adrenal tumour. When the cases show abnormal adrenal space-occupying lesions in imaging examinations, non-adrenal diseases should be considered. we need to combine different imaging techniques for analysis, and think more about it, avoid misdiagnosis leading to unnecessary surgery.