Cells constituting the tumor microenvironment are attractive targets for developing new cancer therapies. Here we show that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) support tumor growth in vivo and maintain the stemness of cancer stem/initiating cells in an in vitro model using an established CAF cell line. We found that CD44 is abundantly expressed on CAFs. This molecule is a cancer stem cell marker in several tumors, but its role in tumorigenesis when expressed by CAFs has not been investigated. It is generally accepted that hypoxic and hyponutritional conditions are triggers of cancer malignancy. We found that CAFs strongly express CD44 in hypoxic and avascular areas in the tumor and that its expression on established CAFs is upregulated under hypoxic and hyponutritional conditions in vitro. In addition, CAF CD44-positivity in tumor tissues was increased after treatment with inhibitors of angiogenesis. Using cocultures and tumor sphere formation assays, CAFs from wild-type mice were found to sustain the stemness of cancer stem/initiating cells, while CD44-deficient CAFs did not. Furthermore, CD44 was involved in malignant cancer cell drug resistance mechanisms. In conclusion, our study suggests that CD44 on CAFs is a functional molecule contributing to the maintenance of cancer stem cell populations in the tumor microenvironment. STEM CELLS 2014;32:145-156

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Oxidative stress and inflammation may be key factors in the development of bladder overactivity in atherosclerosis-induced chronic bladder ischemia.

Lung cancer is a common type of cancer that represents a health problem worldwide; lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a major subtype of lung cancer. Although several treatments for LUAD have been developed, the mortality rate remains high because of uncontrollable progression. Further biological and clinicopathological studies are therefore needed. Here, we investigated the role of family with sequence similarity 111 member B (FAM111B), which is highly expressed in papillary‐predominant LUAD; however, its role in cancer is unclear. An immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that papillary‐predominant adenocarcinomas exhibited higher expression of FAM111B, compared with lepidic‐predominant adenocarcinomas. Additionally, FAM111B expression was significantly correlated with clinical progression. In vitro functional analyses using FAM111B‐knockout cells demonstrated that FAM111B plays an important role in proliferation and cell cycle progression of KRAS ‐driven LUAD under serum‐starvation conditions. Furthermore, FAM111B regulated cyclin D1‐CDK4‐dependent cell cycle progression by degradation of p16. In summary, we revealed the clinical importance of FAM111B in human tumor tissues, as well as its function as a degradative enzyme. Therefore, FAM111B has potential as a clinicopathological prognostic marker for LUAD.

Eviprostat is a phytotherapeutic agent that has been used widely for more than 40 years in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in Japan and Germany, and is known to have antioxidant activity. The present study investigated the effect of Eviprostat on the levels of the urinary oxidative stress marker 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in a rabbit model of surgical partial bladder outlet obstruction (PBOO) and in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with BPH. In the rabbit model, 8-OHdG levels in urine collected after 3 weeks of PBOO were 3.8-fold higher than in the urine of sham-operated rabbits. When twice-daily Eviprostat was administered orally throughout the 3-week PBOO period, the increase in urinary 8-OHdG levels was suppressed by 70%. In the clinical study, nine patients who received Eviprostat for 4 weeks showed 2.5-fold lower urinary 8-OHdG levels than before treatment. During Eviprostat treatment, the total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) decreased from 16.56 +/- 2.74 to 13.67 +/- 2.30 and the quality of life score from 4.22 +/- 0.40 to 3.22 +/- 0.46. The findings provide evidence that the antioxidant activity of Eviprostat is responsible for its beneficial effects in the treatment of BPH.