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Background: In nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer patients, prediction of pTa and pT1 bladder cancer recurrence and progression must be established. Micropapillary structures have been defined as small clusters of invasive cancer cells having features of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Since the stromal microenvironment helps to induce the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, interactions between cancer cells and stroma should be closely examined to predict the tumorigenic phenotype of human bladder cancer cells., Materials and Methods: To investigate differences in the responsiveness of cancer cells to stroma, we combined 3 established human bladder cancer cell lines (high-grade T24 and UM-UC-3 cells, and low-grade papillary RT4 cells) with fetal rat mesenchyme., Results: Among 3 bladder cancer cell lines, the expression profiles of p63 isoforms were distinct, i.e., p63γ in T24 cells, p63β in UM-UC-3 cells, and p63α in RT4 cells. Tumors formed by T24 cells combined with fetal mesenchyme formed micropapillary-like structures, whereas those formed by T24 cells alone did not. T24 cells combined with fetal mesenchyme showed poor differentiation, e.g., innumerable chromatic atypia in the nuclei, higher levels of chromatic condensation, and increased nucleoli. In contrast, both UM-UC-3 and RT4 cells combined with fetal mesenchyme did not form micropapillary-like structures. Ki-67 and p63 labeling indices were significantly elevated by combining fetal mesenchyme with T24 cells but not with the others., Conclusions: By mixing cancer cells with fetal mesenchyme, our data demonstrated that formation of micropapillary-like structures may predict the tumorigenic phenotype of invasive bladder cancer cells. Taken together, distinct expression profiles of p63 isoforms may predict poor outcomes in invasive bladder cancer., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the changes, using magnetic resonance (MR) images, in the masseter muscles caused by low-level static contraction., Study Design: Ten healthy male volunteers were enrolled in the study. The MR scans were performed before, immediately after, and 10 minutes after low-level static contraction. Two imaging sequences were acquired: a diffusion-weighted image and an iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation (IDEAL) image. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the thicknesses of the right and left masseter muscles were examined., Results: The ADC and SNR immediately after exercise were significantly higher than those before exercise and 10 minutes after exercise. The muscles were significantly thicker immediately after exercise than before exercise and 10 minutes after exercise., Conclusion: We confirmed the presence of edema in the masseter muscles caused by low-level static contraction using MR images., (Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)