No abstract

No abstract

Rationale: Urothelial carcinoma, also named transitional cell carcinoma, is the most frequent occurring malignancy in the urinary system. It mainly invades the surrounding tissues and metastasizes to distant organs in later stages. Patient concerns: Here, we presented an unusual case of occult urothelial carcinoma primarily manifested as a multiorgan metastatic cancer in a 59-year-old man. The patient complained of pain on the left thigh root for a month. The imaging and histopathological examination revealed multiple malignancies in lung, bone, and liver. Diagnoses: The histological evaluation and the immunohistochemistry (IHC) profile of liver, lung, and bone were consistent with the diagnosis of metastases from the original urothelial cancer, while imaging examination was not able to detect a primary lesion in the urinary system. Interventions: Based on the mutation of STK11 M51Ifs∗106 detected by next generation sequencing (NGS), we started targeted therapy with everolimus. Outcomes: The patient deteriorated after 3 months of treatment and passed away. Lessons: In this initial report of occult urothelial carcinoma, we obtained information on genetic variations of tumor tissue which could provide important information for subsequent studies on this kind of disease.

No abstract

No abstract

The current study aimed to investigate microRNA-155 (miR-155) expression in spinal tuberculosis-induced intervertebral disc destruction and its regulatory role in disease pathogenesis. A total of 26 patients with intervertebral disc destruction induced by spinal tuberculosis and 31 healthy individuals were included. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reactions, western blot analysis and ELISA were performed to detect mRNA and protein expression levels. A bioinformatics analysis was applied to predict the upstream regulator of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)13, which was confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Compared with the control group, mRNA and protein expression levels of MMP13 were significantly increased in the intervertebral disc of patients with spinal tuberculosis. However, miR-155 expression in the intervertebral disc of patients with spinal tuberculosis was significantly decreased compared with the control group. Dual-luciferase reporter assays suggested that miR-155 bound to the 3′-untranslated region of MMP13 to regulate gene expression. In primary annulus fibrosus cells, upregulated miR-155 expression significantly decreased MMP13 expression in the cells and culture supernatant, whereas it increased type II collagen expression. Upregulated MMP13 expression in the intervertebral disc in patients with spinal tuberculosis may be correlated with downregulated miR-155 expression. miR-155 may regulate expression levels of associated proteins in the intervertebral disc via modulating MMP13 expression, which contributes to the disease pathogenesis. The results of the current study may provide the theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of disc damages caused by spinal tuberculosis.

No abstract

Level II, low-powered prospective randomized trial.