Objective To explore the correlation between the rs4705342 gene mutation in the promoter region of the miR-143/ miR-145 cluster and the risk of PCa in the Chinese Han population. METHODS We enrolled in this study 156 cases of PCa and 188 cancer-free controls. Using TaqMan SNP genotyping assay, we detected the polymorphism of rs4705342 in the promoter region of the miR-143/ miR-145 gene, and performed a stratified analysis on the family history of cancer, body mass index (BMI), age, smoking status, and alcohol consumption of the subjects. RESULTS The proportion of family history of cancer was significantly higher in the case group than in the control (P = 0.01). No statistically significant differences, however, were found between the two groups in age (P = 0.32), BMI (P = 0.79), smoking status (P = 0.47), and alcohol consumption (P = 0.34), nor in the distribution of the TT, CT and CC genotypes (P = 0.07) except in that of the CC and TT/CT combined genotypes (P = 0.01). There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of CC and TT/CT combined genotypes between the non-smoking subgroups, (P = 0.02) and alcohol drinking subgroups (P = 0.03), but not between the clinical stages of PCa (P = 0.81) or the levels of PSA (P = 0.39). CONCLUSIONS The rs4705342 gene mutation in the promoter region of the miR-143/ miR-145 cluster is significantly associated with the pathogenesis of PCa in the Chinese Han population.Objective To explore the regulatory effect of salidroside on H2O2-induced decrease in the expression of the connexin43 (Cx43) protein in corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMC). METHODS Rat CCSMCs were isolated, primarily cultured in vitro and identified by immunocytochemical assay. The optimum concentration of H2O2 for intervention was determined by detecting its effect on the viability of the CCSMCs and used in the treatment of the CCSMCs for different lengths of time, and meanwhile salidroside was applied at 16 μg/ml (low dose) or 64 μg/ml (high dose) for intervention. Finally, the expressions of the Cx43 protein in the CCSMCs of different groups of rats were determined by Western blot. RESULTS The CCSMCs grew normally, with a positive rate of over 90%. At 1, 2 and 4 hours of treatment with H2O2 at the optimum concentration of 200 μmol/L, the expression of Cx43 in the CCSMCs was significantly decreased as compared with that in the blank control group (P less then 0.01), even more significantly at 4 hours than at 1 and 2 (P less then 0.01). Intervention with high-dose salidroside, however, markedly inhibited the down-regulation of the Cx43 expression (P less then 0.05), which showed no statistically significant difference from that in the normal control group (P = 0.322 2). CONCLUSIONS Salidroside can suppress H2O2-induced decrease in the expression of the Cx43 protein in rat CCSMCs.Objective To explore the pathways of development and maturation of the testis tissue in mice with spermatogenic dysfunction in vitro. METHODS Sixty-eight 8-week-old BALB/c male mice were randomly divided into four groups of equal number, normal control, Sertoli cell only syndrome (SCOS), severe hypo-spermatogenesis (H-S1), and mild hypo-spermatogenesis (H-S2), and the models were established in the latter three groups by intraperitoneal injection of busulfan at 40 mg/kg for 4, 6 and 8 weeks, respectively. The testis tissues of the mice were cultured with the agarose gel method in vitro till the 4th week, followed by determination of the expressions of the marker proteins STRA8 at meiotic initiation, SCP3 during meiosis, and TNP1 after meiosis by immunohistochemistry. The development and maturation of the germ cells during the in vitro culture were evaluated, and their apoptosis detected by TUNEL. RESULTS The more severe the testicular tissue injury, the lower the expression of the STRA8 protein in the SCOS, H-S1 and H-S2 groups as compared with the normal control before in vitro culture on agarose gel (P less then 0.05), and the STRA8 expression was significantly upregulated in the former three groups after 4 weeks of culturing (P less then 0.05).  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/vx-661.html  The expression of SCP3 was the lowest in the SCOS but the highest in the H-S2 group before culturing (P less then 0.05), and was not as high as that in the control, though increased after 4 weeks of culturing. TNP1 was positively expressed in all the mice of the control, some individuals of the H-S1 and H-S2 groups (P less then 0.05), but not in the SCOS group at 4 weeks. The apoptosis of germ cells was significantly increased in the SCOS but decreased in the H-S groups compared with that in the normal control after 4 weeks of culturing (P less then 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In vitro culture on agarose gel induces the meiosis of the testis tissue in BALB/c mice with spermatogenic dysfunction, and the effect is even better in those with mild spermatogenic dysfunction.Objective To search for a method of establishing a reliable mouse model of orchitis and investigate the association of orchitis with the activation of the inflammasome. METHODS We equally randomized 40 adult male KM mice into groups A (sham operation), B (intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide ［LPS］), C (unilateral testicular injection of glacial acetic acid ［GAA］), and D (unilateral testicular injection of LPS). At 3 weeks after modeling, we measured the sperm concentration and percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS) in the epididymis by computer-assisted semen analysis, observed the pathological changes in the testis tissue by HE staining, and determined the expressions of the Caspase-1 and interleukin (IL)-1β proteins by Western blot. RESULTS The sperm concentration in the epididymis was significantly decreased in groups B (［25.74 ± 3.19］ ×10⁶/ml), C (［17.16 ± 4.41］ ×10⁶/ml) and D (［16.92 ± 7.13］ ×10⁶/ml) as compared with that in group A (［28.20 ± 1.63］ ×10⁶/ml) (all P less then 0.05), even more significantly in B than in C and D (P less then 0.01), and so was PMS in groups B (［29.57 ± 2.16］%), C (［18.10 ± 2.38］%) and D (［7.34 ± 1.63］%) in comparison with group A (［59.34 ± 1.10］%) (P less then 0.01), even more significantly in B and C than in D (P less then 0.01). Light microscopy revealed different degrees of pathological changes in the testis tissue, most significant in group D, followed by C and B. Both the expressions of Caspase-1 and IL-1β were remarkably up-regulated in groups B, C and D compared with those in group A (P less then 0.01), even more markedly in D than in B and C (P less then 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Unilateral testicular injection of LPS is a more efficient method than either unilateral testicular injection of GAA or intraperitoneal injection of LPS for establishing the mouse model of orchitis. Orchitis may be pathologically associated with the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.