The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and morbidity of minimally invasive tract in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (Mini-PCNL) for renal stones in comparison with the standard PCNL. In a randomized trial, 69 patients (72 renal units) undergoing Mini-PCNL (group 1) from May 2004 to December 2007 were compared with a similar group of 111 (115 renal units) patients undergoing standard PCNL (group 2). Patients who needed more than one percutaneous tract or who had simultaneously undergone the two techniques on the same renal unit were excluded from the study group. Chi-square test was performed for statistical analysis of qualitative variables, and Student's t-test for quantitative variables. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. The two groups had comparable demographic data and some outcome of characteristics such as time of stay in hospital, postoperative pain, dose of postoperative analgesics, ratio of positive fever, and stone-free rates for some types of stones (e.g., staghorn stone and simple renal pelvis stone). The stone-free rate for multiple caliceal stones (85.2% vs. 70.0% in group 1 and group 2) was significantly higher in the Mini-PCNL group (p < 0.05). The incidence of bleeding necessitating transfusion (1.4% vs. 10.4% in group 1 and group 2) was significantly lower in the Mini-PCNL group (p < 0.05). In group 1, operative time for different stone types such as staghorn stone, simple renal pelvis stone, and multiple caliceal stones were 134.3 ± 19.7, 89.4 ± 21.5, and 113.9 ± 20.3 minutes, respectively, which were significantly longer than that for group 2 (118.9 ± 21.5, 77.0 ± 17.6, and 101.2 ± 19.1 minutes) (p < 0.05). Mini-PCNL is safe and effective for managing renal calculi in adult patients. Although smaller working sheath is associated with longer operative time, Mini-PCNL has significantly lower incidence of bleeding necessitating transfusion and higher stone-free rate for multiple caliceal stones in comparison with the standard PCNL.

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are heterogeneous and can influence the progression of prostate cancer in multiple ways; however, their capacity to present and process antigens in PRAD has not been investigated. In this study, antigen presentation and process-related CAFs (APPCAFs) were identified using bioinformatics, and the clinical implications of APPCAF-related signatures in PRAD were investigated. Methods: SMART technology was used to sequence the transcriptome of primary CAFs isolated from patients undergoing different treatments. Differential expression gene (DEG) screening was conducted. A CD4 + T-cell early activation assay was used to assess the activation degree of CD4 + T cells. The datasets of PRAD were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and the list of 431 antigen presentation and process-related genes was obtained from the InnateDB database. Subsequently, APP-related CAFs were identified by nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) based on a single-cell seq (scRNA) matrix. GSVA functional enrichment analyses were performed to depict the biological functions. A risk signature based on APPCAF-related genes (APPCAFRS) was developed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis, and the independence of the risk score as a prognostic factor was evaluated by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Furthermore, a biochemical recurrence-free survival (BCRFS)-related nomogram was established, and immune-related characteristics were assessed using the ssGSEA function. The immune treatment response in PRAD was further analyzed by the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) tool. The expression levels of hub genes in APPCAFRS were verified in cell models. Results: There were 134 upregulated and 147 downregulated genes, totaling 281 differentially expressed genes among the primary CAFs. The functions and pathways of 147 downregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in antigen processing and presentation processes, MHC class II protein complex and transport vesicle, MHC class II protein complex binding, and intestinal immune network for IgA production. Androgen withdrawal diminished the activation effect of CAFs on T cells. NMF clustering of CAFs was performed by APPRGs, and pseudotime analysis yielded the antigen presentation and process-related CAF subtype CTSK + MRC2 + CAF-C1. CTSK + MRC2 + CAF-C1 cells exhibited ligand‒receptor connections with epithelial cells and T cells. Additionally, we found a strong association between CTSK + MRC2 + CAF-C1 cells and inflammatory CAFs. Through differential gene expression analysis of the CTSK + MRC2 + CAF-C1 and NoneAPP-CAF-C2 subgroups, 55 significant DEGs were identified, namely, APPCAFRGs. Based on the expression profiles of APPCAFRGs, we divided the TCGA-PRAD cohort into two clusters using NMF consistent cluster analysis, with the genetic coefficient serving as the evaluation index. Four APPCAFRGs, THBS2, DPT, COL5A1, and MARCKS, were used to develop a prognostic signature capable of predicting BCR occurrence in PRAD patients. Subsequently, a nomogram with stability and accuracy in predicting BCR was constructed based on Gleason grade (p = n.s.), PSA (p < 0.001), T stage (p < 0.05), and risk score (p < 0.01). The analysis of immune infiltration showed a positive correlation between the abundance of resting memory CD4 + T cells, M1 macrophages, resting dendritic cells, and the risk score. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of THBS2, DPT, COL5A1, and MARCKS in the cell models were consistent with the results of the bioinformatics analysis. Conclusions: APPCAFRS based on four potential APPCAFRGs was developed, and their interaction with the immune microenvironment may play a crucial role in the progression to castration resistance of PRAD. This novel approach provides valuable insights into the pathogenesis of PRAD and offers unexplored targets for future research.

Objectives: 5α‐reductase inhibitor (5‐ARI) is a commonly used medicine in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Our study mainly focuses on the mechanism of BPH development after 5ARI treatment.Materials and Methods: Prostate specimens from patients were collected. Insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1), Beclin‐1, LC3 levels, was analysed by immunohistochemistry. The role IGF‐1 on autophagic flux in prostate epithelial cells was studied. Additionally, effect of autophagy on recombinant grafts consisting of prostate stromal and epithelial cells in nude mice was investigated.Results: We demonstrated that IGF‐1 expression is down‐regulated in prostate fibroblasts after long‐term 5‐ARI application. A decrease in IGF‐1 levels was found to activate autophagic flux through the mTOR pathway in prostate epithelial cells, while the inhibition of IGF‐1 receptor function induced autophagy in prostate epithelial cells. In addition, we revealed that blocking autophagic flux initiation can reduce the volume of recombinant grafts in vivo. Finally, our findings suggest that long‐term 5‐ARI application reduces IGF‐1 secretion by prostatic stromal cells, thereby inducing autophagy of prostatic epithelial cells, which is one of the mechanisms underlying BPH pathogenesis and progression.Conclusions: Focusing on the autophagy induced by low levels of IGF‐1 in prostatic epithelial cells, after elucidating AR signalling impairment of prostate stromal cells, might provide a novel strategy for the treatment and prevention of BPH development.

Purpose: To review our 5-year experience with retrograde ureteroscopic treatment for patients with upper ureteral stones and to compare the outcome, safety, and efficiency of pneumatic and holmium laser lithotripsy in managing upper ureteral stones. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the hospital records of 372 patients who underwent 384 retrograde ureteroscopic procedures for upper ureteral stones at our center from January 2003 to December 2007. Patient and stone characteristics, treatment variables. and clinical outcomes were assessed. Factors such as failure of the procedure, stone clearance, intraoperative and postoperative morbidity, procedure duration, and hospital stay were analyzed and compared between pneumatic (group 1) and laser lithotripsy (group 2). Results: Overall, the stone-free rate was 90.4%, the mean operative duration was 41.2 ± 10.7 minutes, the mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.7 ± 0.9 days, and the rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications were 14.6% and 3.9%, respectively, for groups 1 and 2. In comparing group 1 and group 2, the significantly higher number of intraoperative complications coincide with a significantly lower stone-free rate. Nevertheless, the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications between the two groups was not statistically significant except in the case of stone upward migration. The mean operative time of group 2 was 43.3 ± 11.1 minutes, which was significantly longer than that for group 1, which was 38.7 ± 9.1 minutes (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Retrograde ureteroscopy is a safe and effective method for managing upper ureteral stones. A high postoperative stone-free rate is associated with the refined use of a holmium laser lithotriptor to ensure thoroughness while avoiding migration of the stones into the renal pelvis. Although laser lithotripsy has a longer operative time, it remains the more appropriate choice for managing upper ureteral stones.

The activation of androgen receptor (AR) signaling plays an essential role in both prostate stromal cells and epithelial cells during the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Here we demonstrated that androgen ablation after 5α-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) treatment induced autophagy in prostate stromal fibroblasts inhibiting cell apoptosis. In addition, we found that ATG9A expression was increased after androgen ablation, which facilitated autophagic flux development. Knockdown of ATG9A not only inhibited autophagy notably in prostate stromal fibroblasts, but also reduced the volumes of prostate stromal fibroblast and epithelial cell recombinant grafts in nude mice. In conclusion, our findings suggested that ATG9A upregulation after long-term 5-ARI treatment constitutes a possible mechanism of BPH progression. Thus, combined treatment with 5-ARI and autophagy inhibitory agents would reduce the risk of BPH progression.

Quantum dots (QDs) are a new class of fluorescent labeling for biological and biomedical applications. In this study, we detected prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) expression correlated with tumor grade and stage in human prostate cancer by QDs-based immunolabeling and conventional immunohistochemistry (IHC), and evaluated the sensitivity and stability of QDs-based immunolabeling in comparison with IHC. Our data revealed that increasing levels of PSCA expression accompanied advanced tumor grade (QDs labeling, r = 0.732, p < 0.001; IHC, r = 0.683, p < 0.001) and stage (QDs labeling, r = 0.514, p = 0.001; IHC, r = 0.432, p = 0.005), and the similar tendency was detected by the two methods. In addition, by comparison between the two methods, QDs labeling was consistent with IHC in detecting the expression of PSCA in human prostate tissue correlated with different pathological types (K = 0.845, p < 0.001). During the observation time, QDs exhibited superior stability. The intensity of QDs fluorescence remained stable for two weeks (p = 0.083) after conjugation to the PSCA protein, and nearly 93% of positive expression with their fluorescence still could be seen after four weeks.