Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0403608 (ureter)
 9,655 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

C-erbB-2 is a human proto-oncogene which has homologies with the well known proto-oncogene c-erbB. The c-erbB-2 gene is amplified and overexpressed in some human adenocarcinomas. Its expression, in terms of RNA levels in normal human fetal kidney, lung and liver, has also been reported. In the present study, various fetal tissues from three human abortuses obtained at 9, 14 and 24 weeks of gestation, were studied immunohistologically by the ABC method and immunochemically by Western blot analysis for the distribution of c-erbB-2 gene product at the protein level. A polyclonal antibody raised in rabbit by immunization with a synthetic polypeptide corresponding to part of the predicted intracytoplasmic domain was used. Strong immunoreactivity was observed on the membrane of most of the epithelial cells examined, including transitional cells of the renal pelvis and ureter, glandular cells of the gastrointestinal tract, renal tubuli, bronchi and pancreas, and stratified epithelium of the oral cavity, trachea and esophagus in this gestational period. A much more intense reaction was observed on the basolateral sides than on the apical side of these cells. No immunoreactivity was found in the liver, adrenal gland, striated and smooth muscles, brain, endothelium or fibroblasts. Western blot analysis confirmed increased expression of the c-erbB-2 gene product in fetal kidney and intestine but not in the brain. As the protein seems to be poorly expressed in normal adult epithelial cells except for renal tubuli, the present results suggest that the protein is a membrane-associated receptor protein which controls some specific reaction of fetal epithelium.
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PMID:C-erbB-2 gene product, a membrane protein commonly expressed on human fetal epithelial cells. 247 78

Clinical evaluation of 460 cases of urothelial tumors of the renal pelvis and ureter was performed using a new clinical classification system, since no systemic clinical classification such as the TNM system for bladder tumors has been available to date. ABC, and TS and TE categories were newly adopted. The former distinguishes tumor multicentricity, and the latter indicates the clinical tumor stage. Tumors arising in one organ and homolaterally are categorized as A, while those in both organs (ureter and renal pelvis) and/or in the bladder are B, and bilateral tumors are C. TS represents the tumors of pT1 and pT2, and TE represents pT3, and pT4. Tumors belonging to pB showed a poorer prognosis than pA tumors. The TS and TE staging system clearly reflected the histopathologic stage, and produced significant differences in relative survival rates. Regarding various prognostic factors, our series gave the same results as reported by other investigators. However, it should be stressed that female patients showed a poorer prognosis than male patients.
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PMID:Clinical evaluation of urothelial tumors of the renal pelvis and ureter based on a new classification system. 381 9

Urothelial umbrella cells are characterized by apical, rigid membrane plaques, which contain four major uroplakin proteins (UP Ia, Ib, II and III) forming UPIa/UPII and UPIb/UPIII pairs. These integral membrane proteins are thought to play an important role in maintaining the physical integrity and the permeability barrier function of the urothelium. We asked whether the four uroplakins always coexpress in the entire human lower urinary tract. We stained immunohistochemically (ABC-peroxidase method) paraffin sections of normal human ureter (n = 18) and urinary bladder (n = 10) using rabbit antibodies against UPIa, UPIb, UPII and UPIII; a recently raised mouse monoclonal antibody (MAb), AU1, and two new MAbs, AU2 and AU3, all against UPIII; and mouse MAbs against umbrella cell-associated cytokeratins CK18 and CK20. Immunoblotting showed that AU1, AU2 and AU3 antibodies all recognized the N-terminal extracellular domain of bovine UPIII. By immunohistochemistry, we found that in 15/18 cases of human ureter, but in only 2/10 cases of bladder, groups of normal-looking, CK18-positive umbrella cells lacked both UPIII and UPIb immunostaining. The UPIb/UPIII-negative cells showed either normal or reduced amounts of UPIa and UPII staining. These data were confirmed by double immunofluorescence microscopy. The distribution of the UPIb/UPIII-negative umbrella cells was not correlated with localized urothelial proliferation (Ki-67 staining) or with the distribution pattern of CK20. Similar heterogeneities were observed in bovine but not in mouse ureter. We provide the first evidence that urothelial umbrella cells are heterogeneous as some normal-looking umbrella cells can possess only one, instead of two, uroplakin pairs. This heterogeneity seems more prominent in the urothelium of human ureter than that of bladder. This finding may indicate that ureter urothelium is intrinsically different from bladder urothelium. Alternatively, a single lineage of urothelium may exhibit different phenotypes resulting from extrinsic modulations due to distinct mesenchymal influence and different degrees of pressure and stretch in bladder versus ureter. Additional studies are needed to distinguish these two possibilities and to elucidate the physiological and pathological significance of the observed urothelial and uroplakin heterogeneity.
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PMID:Urothelial umbrella cells of human ureter are heterogeneous with respect to their uroplakin composition: different degrees of urothelial maturity in ureter and bladder? 1581 16

The patient, a 54-year-old male, reported to our hospital with major complaints of epigastric pain and brownish coloration of the urine. His history included resections of the left kidney and ureter due to a cancer of the left renal pelvis. The diagnosis was gallbladder cancer with infiltration of the liver and mesoduodenal ligament and lymphatic metastasis. Surgery was conducted after jaundice had ameliorated. But his condition was judged not to be amenable to surgery: the procedure was limited to an exploratory laparotomy. Chemotherapy composed of gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 + CDDP 25 mg/m2 (administered for 2 weeks followed by one week of no treatment, repeated for 8 cycles) was initiated on the 16th day of illness. In a phase III trial (the UK ABC-02 trial) conducted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in 2009, in which gemcitabine + CDDP combination therapy was compared against gemcitabine monotherapy to treat patients with advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancers, the overall duration of survival was significantly prolonged and the mortality risk reduced. Therefore, the result of this trial was used as a reference for the current study. After one cycle applied while the patient was in the hospital, no adverse effects of the chemotherapy were found and a subsequent treatment was given on an outpatient basis. No adverse effects attributable to the chemotherapy were noted until 8 cycles were completed. The tumor marker levels were much reduced. The tumor was reduced in size and marked improvement was noted in bile duct stenosis. With a careful observation of the clinical course, the procedure for unresectable gallbladder cancer shown here may be applied on an outpatient basis. It is an effective and safe therapeutic modality, which may become a standard therapeutic procedure.
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PMID:[A case of unresectable advanced gallbladder cancer successfully treated by a combined administration of gemcitabine + CDDP]. 2122 89