A promising target for immunotherapy?

Rosalyn M. Adam, PhDAmong the AUA annual meeting take-home messages in basic science is that the immune co-stimulatory molecule B7-H4 is highly expressed in the luminal subtype of bladder urothelial carcinoma and is associated with poor survival. The take-home messages in basic science were presented by Rosalyn M. Adam, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston.

The immune co-stimulatory molecule B7-H4 is highly expressed in the luminal subtype of bladder urothelial carcinoma and is associated with poor survival. B7-H4 may be a promising target for immunotherapy, particularly in patients who do not respond to PD-L1 therapy.

Patient-derived xenografts from primary and metastatic prostate cancer lesions are being used to interrogate biology underlying development of resistance and to suggest alternative therapeutic approaches.

An ultra-fast system combining xenografts derived from primary tumors and metastases in patients with renal cell carcinoma combined with multiregional genomic sequencing provided a readout of drug resistance based on phenotype and holds promise for guiding personalized drug selection.

Stable patient-derived xenograft models and cell lines of upper tract urothelial carcinoma have been developed and offer utility for drug screening as a personalized medicine approach.

Bladder cancer tumors with a basal phenotype in patients who have not received neoadjuvant chemotherapy are high risk and aggressive, but they respond favorably to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, leading to increased overall survival.

Continue to the next page for more take-home messages.

• Downregulated miRNA clusters were characterized in bladder biopsy tissue obtained from patients with bladder outlet obstruction and could provide insights into the mechanism for loss of function.

• MicroRNA-132 induced bladder hypertrophy and overactivity in a rodent model. Its effects on muscle contractility were consistent with its ability to downregulate acetylcholinesterase and upregulate molecules associated with overactivity.

• Estrogen receptor gene networks may provide novel biomarkers for studying BPH and associated lower urinary tract symptoms.

• Periprostatic fat in obese patients may contribute to prostate tissue remodeling.

• Extracellular vesicles derived from amniotic fluid stem cells attenuated elevated VEGF signaling in a mouse model of Alport syndrome and the pathologic sequelae of the disease.

• Patients with calcium stones and Randall’s plaque excrete distinct populations of miRNAs within urinary extracellular vesicles. These miRNAs contribute to stone pathogenesis and may serve as valuable biomarkers.

• A biofabricated bone marrow-derived cell patch restored structure and function to radiation-injured bladders in a rat model.

• Optogenetics offers a strategy to evoke control of discrete populations of bladder sensory fibers that could lead to better understanding of their role in bladder function and disease.

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