Biological effect of human serum collected before and after oral intake of Pygeum africanum on various benign prostate cell cultures

Pygeum africanum （Tadenan） is a popular phytotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. The active compounds of the drug have not been identified, and determining the plasma concentration of the drug is, therefore, not possible. Because there are conflicting results on the efficacy of this drug, we aimed to investigate its effect on prostate cell growth in vitro using human serum collected before and after Pygeum africanum intake. We used primary and organotypic cultures of human prostatic stromal myofibroblast cell line WPMY and prostatic epithelial cell line PNT2. We also used fresh benign prostatic tissue. The serum of a treated man induced decreases in the proliferation of primary cells, organotypic cells and WPMY cells but not PNT2 cells. We also analysed the effect of treated serum on the gene expression profile of WPMY cells. The transcriptome analysis revealed an upregulation of genes involved in multiple tumour suppression pathways and a downregulation of genes involved in inflammation and oxidative-stress pathways. The oral intake of Pygeum africanum resulted in serum levels of active substances that were sufficient to inhibit the proliferation of cultured myofibroblasts prostatic cells. This inhibition was associated with changes in the transcriptome. Asian Journal of Andrology（2012） 14, 499-504; doi：lO.1038/aja.2011.132; published online 26 December 2011

Detection and quantifi cation of extracellular microRNAs in medulloblastoma

Aim:Medu lloblastoma(MB)is the most common malignant brain tumor in children.The crucial role of extracellular-microRNAs(ex-miRNAs)in cancer has been widely recognized;however,their role in MB remains unknown.This study aimed to investigate MB-driven ex-miRNAs.Methods:Microarray analysis was used to disclose the identity and quantity of key miRNAs excreted in culture-medium(CM)of 3 human MB cell lines and cere brospinal fl uid(CSF)of brain tumors(including MB)and leukemia patients.MiRNA expression was validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Results:We have demonstrated that the 3 MB cell lines tested commonly expressed 1,083 miRNAs in their spent CM.Among them,57 miRNAs were specifi c to the CM of metastasis-related cell lines which represents the aggressive group 3 and group 4 MB subtypes.A signifi cant number(1,254)of ex-miRNAs were identifi ed in the CSF of a MB patient.Eighty-six of these miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in this patient’s CSF compared with controls.Interestingly,3 metastasis-associated miRNAs over-represented in CM of metastasis-related MB cell lines were found to be significantly enriched in the CSF of the MB patient.Conclusion:Although more samples are required to fully verify these results,our work provides the first evidence for the presence of a signifi cant amount of miRNAs excreted extracellularly by MB cells and raises the possibility that,in the near future,miRNAs could be probed in CSF of MB patients and serve as novel biological markers.