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)

Human genital skin fibroblasts contain both the full-length 110 K androgen receptor protein (AR-B, apparent M(r) approximately 110,000) and an 87 K N-terminally truncated AR isoform (AR-A, apparent M(r) approximately 87,000). These two AR species are structurally analogous to the A- and B-isoforms of the progesterone receptor (PR). We examined the distribution pattern of human AR isoforms in a variety of fetal and adult tissues by Western blot analysis. Relative levels of immunoreactive AR proteins in high salt tissue extracts were estimated by densitometry in comparison to a standard normal genital skin fibroblast preparation. High AR levels (AR-A + AR-B = 0.8-7.7) were present in male and female reproductive tissues from mid-trimester fetuses, including penis, prostate, testis, epididymis, scrotal skin, labial skin, uterus/cervix, and ovary. AR-A and AR-B (0.08-0.9) also were found in 14 non-genital fetal tissues (bladder, fat, lung, great vessel, trachea, muscle, scalp skin, kidney, thyroid, intestine, thymus, ureter, stomach and rectum). AR-A accounted for 4-26% of the AR protein detected in these tissues. Ten other fetal tissues had low levels of AR-B (0.02-0.3) and little or no detectable AR-A. AR-B also was the predominant or only immunoreactive AR species found in 17 adult human tissues. AR levels in adult reproductive tissues (prostate, endometrium, ovary, uterus, fallopian tube, testis, seminal vesicle, myometrium, and ejaculatory duct) ranged from 0.1 to 2.2. Immunoreactive AR (0.4-0.8) also was present in specimens of prostate carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma and kidney. Lower levels of AR (0.03-0.1) were detected in adult breast, colon, lung and adrenal gland specimens. This study demonstrates that immunoreactive AR protein is present in a wide variety of human fetal and adult tissues and that two AR isoforms are expressed in many tissues.
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PMID:A and B forms of the androgen receptor are expressed in a variety of human tissues. 880 38

One of the most important biological features of papillary transitional cell carcinoma (pTCC) of the urinary tract is its multicentricity and its tendency for recurrences. Two possible mechanisms, field effect and intramucosal seeding/spreading, have been proposed. The former theory hypothesizes that carcinogenic agents cause synchronous or metachronous malignant transformation of multiple urothelial cells (independent clonal origin), and the latter speculates that synchronous and metachronous tumors are derived from implantation or direct spreading of tumor cells (identical clonal origin). We tested these hypotheses by analyzing the methylation patterns of the androgen receptor gene (HUMARA) located at the X-chromosome. Thirty-five metachronous and synchronous, low-grade (grade 1 or 2), noninvasive pTCCs of the urinary tract from 10 heterozygous female patients were successfully analyzed using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. These included 16 recurrent bladder tumors from 4 patients, 10 metachronous bladder and ureter/renal pelvis tumors from 4 patients, and 9 multifocal tumors from 2 patients. All tumors are monoclonal as indicated by unbalanced methylation of HUMARA. Furthermore, same methylated allele was detected in multiple recurrent or multifocal tumors from any given patient, indicating their identical clonal origin. We conclude that low-grade, noninvasive pTCCs are monoclonal in nature. Synchronous or metachronous pTCCs have an identical clonal origin, strongly supporting the intramucosal seeding/spreading hypothesis.
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PMID:Identical clonal origin of synchronous and metachronous low-grade, noninvasive papillary transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary tract. 1053 67