Evidence of a novel biomarker, alphas1-Casein, a milk protein, in benign prostate hyperplasia

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease in elderly men. Although it is a nonmalignant disease, it has a significant detrimental impact on the quality of life in patients with late-stage disease. Owing to the lack of specific markers, diagnosis of early-stage BPH has been proven unsuccessful. Recently, using two-dimensional electrophoresis, we identified a group of prostatic secretory proteins that are specifically produced by BPH cells (Xu et al., Electrophoresis 2003; 24: 1311). In this study, we investigated the potential diagnostic value of one of the secretory proteins, alpha s1-Casein, in BPH by inmmunohistological staining of normal, BPH and prostate cancer tissues. We found that 90% ( 20 out of 22) of BPH tissues showed moderate to strong alpha s1-Casein protein expression whereas none of the normal tissues ( 0 out of 10) and less than 10% of the prostate cancer tissues ( 3 out of 30) showed similar staining intensity. Our results suggest that alpha s1-Casein may be a potential biomarker for early identification of BPH patients.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000240144800025&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701OncologyUrology & NephrologySCI(E)5ARTICLE3293-297

Role of Adiposity-Driven Inflammation in Depressive Morbidity

Depression and metabolic disorders, including overweight and obesity, appear tightly interrelated. The prevalence of these conditions is concurrently growing worldwide, and both depression and overweight/obesity represent substantial risk factors for multiple medical complications. Moreover, there is now multiple evidence for a bidirectional relationship between depression and increased adiposity, with overweight/obesity being associated with an increased prevalence of depression, and in turn, depression augmenting the risk of weight gain and obesity. Although the reasons for this intricate link between depression and increased adiposity remain unclear, converging clinical and preclinical evidence points to a critical role for inflammatory processes and related alterations of brain functions. In support of this notion, increased adiposity leads to a chronic low-grade activation of inflammatory processes, which have been shown elsewhere to have a potent role in the pathophysiology of depression. It is therefore highly possible that adiposity-driven inflammation contributes to the development of depressive disorders and their growing prevalence worldwide. This review will present recent evidence in support of this hypothesis and will discuss the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. Altogether, findings presented here should help to better understand the mechanisms linking adiposity to depression and facilitate the identification of new preventive and/or therapeutic strategies.Rôle de l'Inflammation dans la Symptomatologie Neuropsychiatrique chez le Sujet Obès