Objective: To investigate the expression of peroxisome proliferator actived receptor ? (PPAR ?)and the inducement of apoptosis by PPAR ? ligand in renal cell carcinoma(RCC) derived cell lines.Methods:RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were performed to determined the expression of PPAR ? mRNA and protein in two RCC derived cell lines(786 O and A498) and two normal kidney(NK) derived cell lines(HK 2 and HMCC). Two RCC cell lines were treated with 50 ?mol/L troglitazoned for and evaluated for the effects of antidiabetic thiazolidinediones (TZDs) on the cells apoptosis by fluorescence microscopy and DNA ladder assay.The mutative expressions of Bcl 2 and Bax before and after TZDs treatment were also performed by western blot analysis. Results: The expression of PPAR ? was observed to be stronger in 786 O and A498 cells than in HK 2 and HMCC cells by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Treated with 50 ?mol/L troglitazone (for 48 h) it induced typical apoatosis in 786 O and A498 cells. After treatment, a decrease in Bcl 2 expression in RCC cells was observed by Western blot analysis,and the expression of Bax,however,was up regulated.Conclusion: The results reveal that troglitazone has the tumor suppressive effect on RCC cells. High affinity PPAR ? ligands (TZDs) may be the candidates for a novel approach to the treatment of this refractory neoplasm.

Objective To evaluate the prognostic significance of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) expression in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods CA IX expression in a cohort of 120 patients with ccRCC was evaluated by P-V immunohistochemistry with a rabbit CA IX polyclonal antibody. Twenty-five normal kidney tissues were used as a control. The relationship between CA IX expression and prognosis was analyzed by univariate and multiple-factor analysis (Cox regression model). The primary end point was cancer specific survival. Results One hundred and twelve (93.3%) patients were followed up with the median follow-up time of 45 months (range, 6 to 94 months). Seventy-five patients survived without evidence of tumor recurrence, 3 patients survived with tumor recurrence, and 34 patients died, 28 of the 34 died of cancer. CA IX expression was negative in all normal renal tissue. High CA IX expression was observed in 89 (74.2%) patients, among which 82 patients were followed up, and the disease free survival was 75.6% (62/82). Two (2.4%) patients survived with tumor recurrence, and 18 (22.0%) patients died, of which 13 (15.9%) died of cancer. Tumor recurrence and (or) metastasis occurred in 9 (11.0%) patients, with a median survival of 92 months in this high expression group. Low CA IX expression was observed in 31 (25.8%) patients, among which 30 patients were followed up, and the disease free survival was 43.3% (13/30). One (3.3%) patient survived with tumor recurrence, and 16 (53.3%) patients died, of which 15 (50.0%) died of cancer. Tumor recurrence and (or) metastasis occurred in 8 (26.7%) patients with a median survival of 53 months in this low expression group. Cancer specific survival between CA IX high expression group and low expression group was significantly different (P=0.000, χ2=15.950), and tumor relapse and (or) metastasis rates were significantly different (P=0.040, χ2=4.200). The 1, 3, 5 and 7 year cancer specific survival rates were 95.2%, 83.9%, 81.2% and 78.2% respectively in the high CA IX expression group, and 89.5%, 63.9%, 46.8% and 40.1% respectively in the low expression group. Multivariate analysis with Cox regression model showed that CA IX expression was a prognostic factor (RR=0.186). Conclusions High CA IX expression is negatively correlated with postoperative mortality, relapse and (or) metastasis in ccRCC. CA IX expression could be used as a prognostic biomarker in ccRCC.

Objective To determine the predictive parameters of impacted ureteral stones and evaluate the predictive value of ureteral wall thickness for impacted ureteral stones.Methods A total of 93 patients with proximal ureteral stones from January 2017 to December 2017 were included in the study [71 males and 22 females,aged 30-80 years,and body mass index (23.7 ± 2.7) kg/m2].Both clinical and computed tomography urography (CTU) data were compared between patients with or without impacted ureteral stone,including sex,age,body mass index,renal pelvic diameter,longitudinal size of stone,transverse size of stone,stone surface area,stone volume,hounsfield units of stone,diameter of the ureter proximal to the stone,and ureteral wall thickness at the impacted ureteral stone site.The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the performance of each of the above-mentioned parameters for predicting the impacted ureteral stones.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to select the independent risk factors of impacted ureteral stones.Results Among 93 patients,38 (40.8％) patients were with impacted stones and 55 (59.1％) without impacted stones.Univariate analysis showed significant difference in ureteral wall thickness (t =6.344,P ＜ 0.001),diameter of the ureter proximal to the stone (U =607.5,P =0.001),longitudinal size of stone(U =580.5,P ＜0.001),transverse size of stone(t =4.172,P ＜0.001),stone surface area(U =508.5,P ＜ 0.001),stone volume (U =508.5,P ＜ 0.001) and hounsfield units of stone (t =6.344,P =0.006) between patients with or without impacted stones.Ureteral wall thickness(UWT)showed the largest area under curve (AUC) among those parameters (AUC =0.825,P ＜ 0.001),followed by stone surface area and stone volume.The optimal cut-off value of ureteral wall thickness was 3.16 mm,with sensitivity of 71.1％ and specificity of 85.5％.Multivariate analysis showed that ureteral wall thickness (Wald =18.709,P ＜ 0.001) and stone volume (Wald =8.391,P =0.004) were independent predictors of impacted stones.Conclusion Ureteral wall thickness was related to the presence of impacted ureteral stones and could be used for predicting impacted ureteral stones.