Archives of dermatological research
-
Arch. Dermatol. Res. · May 2014
Case ReportsInvestigation of four novel male androgenetic alopecia susceptibility loci: no association with female pattern hair loss.
Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is a common hair loss disorder in women and has a complex mode of inheritance. The etiopathogenesis of FPHL is largely unknown; however, it is hypothesized that FPHL and male pattern baldness [androgenetic alopecia (AGA)] share common genetic susceptibility alleles. Our recent findings indicate that the major AGA locus, an X-chromosome region containing the androgen receptor and the ectodysplasin A2 receptor (EDA2R) genes, may represent a common genetic factor underlying both early-onset FPHL and AGA. ⋯ Patients and controls were genotyped for the top two single nucleotide polymorphisms at each of the four AGA loci. However, none of the genotyped variants displayed any significant association. In conclusion, the results of this study provide no support for the hypothesis that the novel AGA loci influence susceptibility to FPHL.
-
Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Apr 2014
Comparative StudyNo association between vitamin D intake and incident psoriasis among US women.
We investigated the association between dietary, supplementary and total vitamin D intake and incident psoriasis in women. A prospective study was performed of 70,437 US female nurses aged 47-74 enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study who did not have psoriasis at baseline in 1994 and who completed semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006. The incidence of clinician-diagnosed psoriasis was ascertained and validated by self-reported questionnaires. 502 confirmed incident psoriasis cases were documented during 973,057 person-years of follow-up from 1994 June to 2008 June. ⋯ The multivariate relative risk for women who took supplementary vitamin D ≥400 IU/day was 1.18 (95 % CI 0.88-1.58) compared with women who did not take supplementary vitamin D. The multivariate risk for women who had total vitamin D intake of 300-399 IU/day was no different than at higher and lower doses of vitamin D intake. Our study does not support preventive roles of dietary or supplemental vitamin D intake for incident psoriasis.
-
IL-18 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine of the IL-1 family involved in Th1/Th2 polarization. IL-18 is produced and stored as an inactive precursor (proIL-18) in several cells including keratinocytes, and thus appropriate processing is required to release its active form. In a previous study using recombinant protein, we demonstrated that granzyme B (GrB) cleaves proIL-18 into its active forms in a similar fashion as caspase-1 and human mast cell chymase. ⋯ The interaction between HaCaT cells and CTL co-culture increased the number of cytoplasmic GrB-positive HaCaT cells with limited endogenous GrB mRNA expression. The concentration of mature IL-18 levels increased in the co-culture supernatant. GrB from CTLs acts double roles to keratinocytes: a IL-18 converting enzyme and pro-apoptotic factor in the skin inflammatory diseases.
-
Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Dec 2013
Functional polymorphisms in cell death pathway genes FAS and FAS ligand and risk of alopecia areata.
FAS and FAS ligand (FASLG) are important proapoptotic proteins that have a significant function in regulating cell growth and apoptosis and play essential roles in many human autoimmune diseases. Alopecia areata (AA) is hypothesized to be an organ-specific autoimmune disease mediated by T cells to the hair follicles. The concept of an autoimmune mechanism as the basis for AA led us to investigate a possible association between the FAS and FASLG polymorphism with AA susceptibility and disease progression on AA patients in Turkish population. ⋯ No association was observed between AA patients and controls according to genotype and allele distribution of FASLG gene 124 A/G polymorphism (p = 0.1297, p = 453, respectively). In conclusion, we provide evidence that FAS/FASLG polymorphisms may have an effect on the risk of AA in the Turkish population. These findings provide an additional support to a genetic basis for AA development.
-
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of UV-induced actinic keratosis and further skin lesions. A newly developed questionnaire about lifetime UV radiation exposure was completed by 514 seafarers. An experienced dermatologist inspected the whole-body skin status of all participants. ⋯ A significant association was also found between actinic keratosis/squamous cell carcinoma and sunlight exposure during home leave [OR 1.67 (1.03-2.81) and OR 6.19 (1.18-32.40)]. Furthermore, the engine room personnel-especially the technical officers-were at higher risk of developing actinic keratosis. Due to the high prevalence of actinic keratosis especially among older seafarers with fair skin, with longer duration of seafaring employment at sea and with higher UV exposure during home leave, more intensive advice should be given on sun protection both at sea and ashore.