No abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common health‐related issues in the male individuals of western countries. Icaritin (ICT) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that exhibits antitumor efficacy in variety of cancers including PCa. However, the precise function and detailed molecular mechanism of ICT in the regression of PCa remain unclear. Ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C) is an anaphase‐promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C)‐specific ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, which acts as an oncogene in PCa progression. The function of ICT in PCa was investigated in transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice using survival analysis, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, TUNEL assay, and immunohistochemistry and in human PCa cell lines using various molecular techniques and functional assays including plasmid construction and transfection. Bioinformatic analyses were performed to identify the interaction between miRNA and UBE2C via the TargetScan algorithm. We demonstrated that ICT inhibited the development and progression of PCa in TRAMP mice by improving the survival rate and tumor differentiation. Furthermore, we found that ICT could significantly inhibit cell proliferation and invasion and induce apoptosis in PCa cells. Consistently, downregulation of UBE2C suppressed the proliferation and invasion of PCa cells. Moreover, a luciferase reporter assay confirmed that UBE2C was a direct target of miR‐381‐3p. Meanwhile, ICT simultaneously downregulated UBE2C expression and upregulated miR‐381‐3p levels in human PCa cells. Altogether, our findings provide a strong rationale for the clinical application of ICT as a potential oncotherapeutic agent against PCa via a novel molecular mechanism of regulating the miR‐381‐3p/UBE2C pathway.

This study was to evaluate the risk factors of infectious complications after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and build a prediction tool for postoperative complications based on the risk factors. A total of 110 male (67.1%) and 54 female (32.9%) patients who underwent PCNL for renal stones between 2010 and 2014 in our institute were included. A detailed clinical information and laboratory results were obtained from patients. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and postoperative fever were recorded after PCNL surgery. In all, 45 cases (27.4%) developed SIRS and fever was observed in 20 cases (12.2%). In multivariate analysis, stone size (odds ratio, OR = 1.471, p = 0.009) and urine white blood cell (WBC) (OR = 1.001, p = 0.007) were related to the development of SIRS. Stone size (OR = 1.644, p = 0.024), urine WBC (OR = 1.001, p = 0.002) and serum albumin (OR = 0.807, p = 0.021) were associated with postoperative fever. We concluded that patients with larger stone size and preoperative urinary tract infection might have a higher risk of developing SIRS and fever after operation, while a high-normal level of serum albumin might be the protective factor for postoperative fever.