Kaimin Guo

Liposarcoma of the spermatic cord mimicking a left inguinal hernia: a case report and literature review

Liposarcoma of the spermatic cord (LSC) is a rare condition characterized by a painless inguinal or scrotal mass. To our knowledge, only about 200 cases have been previously reported in the literature. These tumors are often mistaken for common scrotal swellings, such as hydroceles and hernias. We present a LSC case in which a definitive diagnosis was obtained upon histological examination. We also provide a literature review of other cases that have been reported.

Flavonoids intake and risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

The aim of the study was to assess the association between total flavonoids/flavonoid subclasses intake and prostate cancer risk. Several databases were searched to select eligible studies with predefined criteria. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as the effect size. Publication bias and sensitivity analysis were performed. A total of five studies including four prospective cohort studies and one case–control study were included in the meta‐analysis. The pooled result demonstrated a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer with higher intake of total flavonoids (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02–1.23, P = 0.013). However, sensitivity analysis indicated that there lacked a significant association after removing the study of Wang et al. (RR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.94–1.46). Subgroup analysis stratified by flavonoids subclasses found that higher intake of anthocyanidins and flavan‐3‐ols were significantly associated with increased prostate cancer risk (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03–1.21, P = 0.011; RR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.10–1.32, P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis also indicated that after removing Wangs study, no significant association between anthocyanidins intake and prostate cancer risk was detected (RR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.97–1.54). In conclusion, higher intake of flavonoids may not be associated with prostate cancer risk.

Aphallia in an adult male with 46,XY karyotype

Aphallia is a rare urogenital anomaly with an estimated incidence of 1 in 10–30 million. We report a case of aphallia in a male, who had two well‐developed testicles, but lacked a penis. Digital rectal examination revealed the urethral meatus was opening to the anterior wall of the rectum posterior to the sphincter. Magnetic resonance imaging showed complete absence of penile development with normal testis and scrotum, as well as the urethra running posterior to the prostatic apex and corpus spongiosum in sagittal and coronal T2‐weighted images. Chromosome karyotype confirmed 46,XY, and the polymerase chain reaction method tested no azoospermic factor (AZF) or sex‐determining region Y (SRY) gene deletion. Taking into account the physical and psychosocial conditions, seeking a female without sexual desire as his wife was recommended.

Adenomatoid Tumor of the Tunica Albuginea in a Boy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Adenomatoid tumors (AT) are the most common paratesticular neoplasms and account for approximately 30% of all paratesticular masses. Most of them occur in the third or fourth decade and present as well-defined firm and painless masses. We report here a case of adenomatoid tumor from tunica albuginea. This patient is a 12-year-old boy with left testicular pain for 6 months. Scrotal ultrasonography revealed a solid mass of paratesticular origin. The histology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the final diagnosis. A right tumor resection was performed. Because of its rarity, the clinical and histopathologic appearance is seldom illustrated. Here we present a case report and a comprehensive literature review with the objective of providing useful information on this entity.

A rare case of bilateral sequential spermatocytic seminoma.

Spermatocytic seminoma (SS) is a rare testicular neoplasm characterized by a palpable, painless, slowly enlarging mass in the testis. Even more rare is a synchronous bilateral presentation. Only eight cases of bilateral SS have been reported in the literature, of which three cases were present with synchronous testis enlargement, and five were sequential. Here, we report an additional case of synchronous bilateral SS and present a comprehensive relevant literature review concerning clinical features, histopathology, and treatment.

Relationship between the expression of CD133, HIF-1α, VEGF and the proliferation and apoptosis in hypoxic human prostate cancer cells

This study measured the levels of expression of CD133, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human prostate cancer cells grown under hypoxic and non-hypoxic conditions to compare the values to resulting amounts of proliferation and apoptosis in the cells. Human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP cells were routinely thawed, cultured and passaged. Actively growing cells were divided into batches. Cells in the control group were grown under 5% CO2 + 20% O2, and those in the hypoxia group were grown under 5% CO2 + 1% O2. The experiments were performed after 12, 24 and 72 h under each growth condition. The percentages of CD13+ cells were detected by flow cytometry, the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF was detected by western blot analysis, the cell proliferation rate was detected by the MTT assay, and the apoptotic rate was detected by flow cytometry. The results showed that the percentage of CD133+ cells, and the expressions of HIF-1α and VEGF for the cells in the hypoxia group increased gradually from 12 to 24, to 72 h, while there were no equivalent changes in the control group. Cell proliferation in the two groups increased gradually from 12 to 24, to 72 h, but was significantly higher at all time-points in the hypoxia group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in terms of the amount of apoptotic cells at any of the three different time-points in either group, but the apoptotic cells in the hypoxia group were significantly less than those in the control group at each time-point, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). We conclude that the expression of CD133+, HIF-1α and VEGF in human prostate cancer cells is related to conditions of hypoxia, which ultimately promotes the proliferation and reduces apoptosis in these cells.

Comparison of miRNA and gene expression profiles between metastatic and primary prostate cancer

The present study aimed to identify the regulatory mechanisms associated with the metastasis of prostate cancer (PC). The microRNA (miRNA/miR) microarray dataset GSE21036 and gene transcript dataset GSE21034 were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Following pre-processing, differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between samples from patients with primary prostate cancer (PPC) and metastatic prostate cancer (MPC) with |log2 fold change (FC)| >1 and a false discovery rate <0.05 were selected using the Linear Models for Microarray and RNA-seq Data 4 package of R. Next, a DEM-DEG regulatory network was constructed by downloading miRNA-DEG pairs from the miRNA.org database. Finally, functional annotation of each DEM-DEG module was performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery based on the Gene Ontology database. The upregulated miRNAs, including miR-144, miR-494 and miR-181a, exhibited a higher degree of connections compared with other nodes, including in the DEM-DEG regulatory network, and regulated a number of downregulated DEGs. According to the functional annotation of the DEM-DEG modules, miR-144 and its targeted DEGs enriched the highest number of biological process terms (36 terms), followed by miR-494 (24 terms), miR-30d (18 terms), miR-181a (15 terms), hsa-miR-196a (8 terms), miR-708 (7 terms) and miR-486-5p (2 terms). Therefore, these miRNAs may serve roles in the metastasis of PC cells via downregulation of their corresponding target DEGs.

Ggnbp2-Null Mutation in Mice Leads to Male Infertility due to a Defect at the Spermiogenesis Stage

Gametogenetin binding protein 2 (GGNBP2) is an evolutionarily conserved zinc finger protein. Although Ggnbp2-null embryos in the B6 background died because of a defective placenta, 6.8% of Ggnbp2-null mice in the B6/129 mixed background were viable and continued to adulthood. Adult Ggnbp2-null males were sterile, with smaller testes and an azoospermic phenotype, whereas mutant females were fertile. Histopathological analysis of 2-month-old Ggnbp2-null testes revealed absence of mature spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules and epididymides and reduction of the number of spermatids. Ultrastructural analysis indicated dramatic morphological defects of developing spermatids in the Ggnbp2-null testes, including irregularly shaped acrosomes, acrosome detachment, cytoplasmic remnant, ectopic manchette, and ill-formed head shape in both elongating and elongated spermatids. However, the numbers of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, Leydig cells, and Sertoli cells in Ggnbp2-null testes did not significantly differ from the wild-type siblings. Gonadotropins, testosterone, and the blood-testis barrier were essentially unaffected. Western blot analyses showed increases in α-E-catenin, β-catenin, and N-cadherin, decreases in E-cadherin, afadin, and nectin-3, and no changes in vinculin, nectin-2, focal adhesion kinase, and integrin-β1 protein levels in Ggnbp2-null testes compared to wild-type siblings. Together, this study demonstrates that GGNBP2 is critically required for maintenance of the adhesion integrity of the adlumenal germ epithelium and is indispensable for normal spermatid transformation into mature spermatozoa in mice.

Acetochlor poisoning presenting as acute genital edema: A case report

The etiology of acute scrotal edema can vary from a benign process such as post-trauma hydrocele, allergy, hypoproteinemia, appendicular torsion, or epididymo-orchitis to an emergent process such as an incarcerated inguinal hernia, testicular torsion, or rupture. Rarely, unexplained penile or scrotal swelling occurs as a chemical contact. Here, we reported a case of acetochlor contact presenting as acute genital edema of initial symptom.

Ablation of Ggnbp2 impairs meiotic DNA double-strand break repair during spermatogenesis in mice

Gametogenetin (GGN) binding protein 2 (GGNBP2) is a zinc finger protein expressed abundantly in spermatocytes and spermatids. We previously discovered that Ggnbp2 resection caused metamorphotic defects during spermatid differentiation and resulted in an absence of mature spermatozoa in mice. However, whether GGNBP2 affects meiotic progression of spermatocytes remains to be established. In this study, flow cytometric analyses showed a decrease in haploid, while an increase in tetraploid spermatogenic cells in both 30‐ and 60‐day‐old Ggnbp2 knockout testes. In spread spermatocyte nuclei, Ggnbp2 loss increased DNA double‐strand breaks (DSB), compromised DSB repair and reduced crossovers. Further investigations demonstrated that GGNBP2 co‐immunoprecipitated with a testis‐enriched protein GGN1. Immunofluorescent staining revealed that both GGNBP2 and GGN1 had the same subcellular localizations in spermatocyte, spermatid and spermatozoa. Ggnbp2 loss suppressed Ggn expression and nuclear accumulation. Furthermore, deletion of either Ggnbp2 or Ggn in GC‐2spd cells inhibited their differentiation into haploid cells in vitro. Overexpression of Ggnbp2 in Ggnbp2 null but not in Ggn null GC‐2spd cells partially rescued the defect coinciding with a restoration of Ggn expression. Together, these data suggest that GGNBP2, likely mediated by its interaction with GGN1, plays a role in DSB repair during meiotic progression of spermatocytes.