Objective:To explore the clinical value of modified upper urinary tract video urodynamics in evaluating the surgical effect and guiding the follow-up treatment after ureteral reconstruction.Methods:From December 2018 to November 2020, sixty-nine patients underwent upper urinary tract reconstruction and received modified video urodynamics at the time of nephrostomy removal 3 months after the surgery in the RECUTTER database (29 cases in Peking University First Hospital, 22 cases in Emergency General Hospital, and 18 cases in Beijing Jiangong Hospital). There were 39 males and 30 females, with an average age of (40.4±12.7)years. The stricture was located in left in 34 patients, right side in 27 patients, and bilateral sides in 8 patients. The upper, middle, and lower thirds of the ureter were affected in 26, 10, and 33 cases, respectively. The preoperative creatinine was (92.3±26.9)μmol/L, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was (85.1±23.2)ml/(min·1.73m 2). The upper urinary tract reconstruction included ileal replacement of ureter in 25 cases (36.2%), pyeloplasty in 8 cases (11.6%), ureteroneocystostomy in 9 cases (13.0%), boari flap in 6 cases (8.7%), lingual mucosal graft ureteroplasty in 9 cases (13.0%), appendiceal onlay ureteroplasty in 3 cases (4.3%), ureteroureterostomy in 3 cases (4.3%), and balloon dilation in 6 cases (8.7%). Based on the pressure and imaging, the results could be divided into three types, type Ⅰ, the pressure difference remained stable near baseline, and the renal pelvis pressure was below 22 cmH 2O(1 cmH 2O=0.098 kPa), and the reconstructed ureter is well visualized during the whole perfusion process; type Ⅱ, the pressure difference increases with the perfusion, but it can decrease to a normal level with the ureteral peristalsis; type Ⅲ, the pressure difference exceeds 15 cmH 2O, and the ureteral peristalsis is weak or disappears at the same time. The management strategies and treatment effects of different subtypes were analyzed. Successful treatment was defined as no further treatment required, the absence of hydronephrosis-related symptoms, and the improved or stabilized degree of hydronephrosis. Results:All 69 patients successfully completed upper urinary tract video urodynamics. The pressure difference was higher than 15 cmH 2O in 8 patients, and the median pressure difference was 37(19-54)cmH 2O. The renal pelvis pressure exceeded 22 cmH 2O in 10 patients, and the median pressure was 63.5 (24-155) cmH 2O. Video urodynamic results of upper urinary tract were classified as type Ⅰ in 60 cases, type Ⅱ in 5 cases, and type Ⅲ in 4 cases. Patients in type Ⅰ do not require other treatment after nephrostomy tube removal. Patients in type Ⅱ should avoid holding urine after the removal of nephrostomy and D-J tubes. All patients in type Ⅲ received further treatment, of which 2 patients replaced D-J tube regularly, 1 patient underwent long-term metal ureteral stent replacement, and 1 patient underwent ureteroscopic balloon dilation. The median follow-up time was 24 (18-42) months. All patients in type Ⅰ met the criteria for surgical success, The pre-and postoperative creatinine in type Ⅰ patients were (88.71±23.09)μmol/L and (88.75±23.64)μmol/L ( P=0.984), and eGFR were (88.06±22.66)ml/(min· 1.73m 2)and (87.97±23.01)ml/(min·1.73m 2), respectively( P=0.969). For type Ⅱ patients, ultrasound showed that the degree of hydronephrosis improved in 3 cases and remained stable in 2 cases. The pre-and postoperative creatinine were (105.97±7.75)μmol/L and (97.63±7.56)μmol/L ( P=0.216), and eGFR were (69.08±14.74)ml/(min·1.73m 2)and (75.95±14.02)ml/(min·1.73m 2)( P=0.243), respectively. For type Ⅲ patients, ultrasound showed that the degree of hydronephrosis remained stable. The pre-and postoperative creatinine were (105.14±44.34)μmol/L and (101.49±57.02)μmol/L ( P=0.684), and eGFR were (65.32±19.85)ml/(min·1.73m 2) and (73.42±27.88) ml/(min·1.73m 2), respectively( P=0.316). Conclusions:The pressure and imaging results of modified upper urinary tract video urodynamics can assist in evaluating the surgical effect of ureteral reconstruction, and the classification has certain guiding significance for further treatment.

Aristolochic acid (AA), extracted from Aristolochiaceae plants, plays an essential role in traditional herbal medicines and is used for different diseases. However, AA has been found to be nephrotoxic and is known to cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN).AA-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome in AAN with a high morbidity that manifests mitochondrial damage as a key part of its pathological progression. Melatonin primarily serves as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant. However, its mitochondrial protective role in AA-induced AKI is barely reported. In this study, mice were administrated 2.5 mg/kg AA to induce AKI. Melatonin reduced the increase in Upro and Scr and attenuated the necrosis and atrophy of renal proximal tubules in mice exposed to AA. Melatonin suppressed ROS generation, MDA levels and iNOS expression and increased SOD activities in vivo and in vitro. Intriguingly, the in vivo study revealed that melatonin decreased mitochondrial fragmentation in renal proximal tubular cells and increased ATP levels in kidney tissues in response to AA. In vitro, melatonin restored the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in NRK-52E and HK-2 cells and led to an elevation in ATP levels. Confocal immunofluorescence data showed that puncta containing Mito-tracker and GFP-LC3A/B were reduced, thereby impeding the mitophagy of tubular epithelial cells. Furthermore, melatonin decreased LC3A/B-II expression and increased p62 expression. The apoptosis of tubular epithelial cells induced by AA was decreased. Therefore, our findings revealed that melatonin could prevent AA-induced AKI by attenuating mitochondrial damage, which may provide a potential therapeutic method for renal AA toxicity.

OBJECTIVE: To explore association of the expression levels of adenylate cyclase-associated protein 2 (CAP2) in gastric cancer tissues with the histopathology and long-term prognosis of the malignancy. METHODS: This study was conducted among a total of 105 patients with gastric cancer undergoing radical gastrectomy in our hospital between January, 2010 and October, 2013. Immunohistochemistry was used to quantitatively assess the expression of CAP2 in gastric cancer tissues and the adjacent tissues. Based on the median relative expression level of CAP2 of 3.5, the patients were divided into low CAP2 expression group (=52) and high CAP2 expression group (=53). The Cox regression model was used to analyze the effect of CAP2 expression on the 5-year survival rate of the patients, and ROC curve analysis was used to assess the predictive value of CAP2 expression for the patients' long-term survival. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the expression levels of CAP2 ( < 0.01) and Ki67 ( < 0.01) were significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in the adjacent tissues, and the expression level of CAP2 was positively correlated with Ki67 ( < 0.01), peripheral blood CEA ( < 0.01) and CA19-9 ( < 0.01). The percentages of patients with CEA≥5 μg/L, CA19-9≥37 kU/L, pathological grade of G3-G4, T stage of 3-4, and N stage of 2-3 were significantly higher in patients with high CAP2 expression than in those with low CAP2 expression ( < 0.05). Kaplan- Meier survival analysis showed that the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with a high CAP2 expression ( < 0.01). A high expression level of CAP2, CEA≥5μg/L, CA19-9≥37 and pathological grades G3-G4 were all independent risk factors for shortened 5-year survival after radical gastrectomy ( < 0.01). With the relative expression level of 3.45 as the cut-off value, the sensitivity of CAP2 was 70.15% for predicting death 5 years after the surgery, with a specificity of 71.05% and an area under the curve of 0.779 ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS CAP2 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues in close relation with the tumor progression. CAP2 is an independent risk factor for 5-year survival rate after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer and can be of clinical value in prognostic evaluation of the patients.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; metabolism ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate

Objective: To investigate the prognosis and influencing factors of postoperative low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) for rectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was used in this study. Clinical data of 268 rectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College from January 2016 to January 2018 were retrospectively collected. Inclusion criteria: (1) operation procedure was total mesorectal excision (TME) and sphincter-preserving radical resection; (2) rectal cancer was confirmed by postoperative pathology; (3) age of patient was ≥ 18 years old. Exclusion criteria: (1) patient who had history of pelvic surgery and pelvic fractures, which would affect the anorectal function; (2) patient who had history of preoperative chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, which would affect defecation; (3) patient who developed postoperative complications, such as anastomotic leakage, which would affect defecation function; (4) patient who received long-term use of drugs, which would affect the function of gastrointestinal tract or anus; (5) patient suffered from mental illness, who was unable to communicate properly; (6) patient who was lack of clinical data or had incomplete clinical data. Patients were followed up at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively, and LARS was diagnosed and graded according to the LARS score scale. The LARS score ranged from 0 to 42 points, and 0 to 20 was difined as no LARS, 21 to 29 was mild LARS, and 30 to 42 was severe LARS. LARS score >20 points at any time point was defined as postoperative LARS. Severe LARS transferring into mild LARS and mild LARS transferring into no LARS was defined as symptom improvement. Incidence and outcomes of LARS were evaluated. The factors associated with LARS outcomes were analyzed using χ² test and logistic regression model. Results: A total of 268 patients were enrolled. The incidence of LARS was 42.9% (115/268), 32.5% (87/268) and 20.1% (54/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, and no new case of LARS was found after 3 months postoperatively. The incidence of mild LARS was 25.7% (69/268), 17.2% (46/268) and 8.6% (23/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, and mild LARS incidence at 6 months was significantly lower than that at 3 months (χ²=5.857, P=0.016), and was significantly higher than that at 12 months (χ²=8.799, P=0.003). The incidence of severe LARS was 17.2% (46/268), 15.3% (41/268) and 11.6% (31/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, without significant difference among 3 time points (all P>0.05). The improvement rate within one year after surgery in patients with mild LARS diagnosed at 3 months was significantly higher than that in patients with severe LARS (88.4% vs. 32.6%, χ²=38.340, P<0.001). Univariate analysis showed that female, distance from anastomosis to anal verge < 5 cm and tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm were associated with unsatisfied LARS outcomes (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that distance from anastomosis to anal verge <5 cm was an independent risk factor for LARS outcome (OR=3.589, 95% CI: 1.163 to 2.198, P<0.001). Conclusions The incidence of LARS after laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection decreases with time. The improvement rate within postoperative 1-year of severe LARS is lower than that of mild LARS. Low anastomotic position may lead to impaired improvement of LARS.