Archives of dermatological research
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Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Dec 2010
Increased expression of fibroblast activation protein-alpha in keloid fibroblasts: implications for development of a novel treatment option.
Keloid scars are common benign fibroproliferative reticular dermal lesions with unknown etiology and ill-defined management with high rate of recurrence post surgery. The progression of keloids is characterized by increased deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, invasion into the surrounding healthy skin and inflammation. Fibroblasts are considered to be the key cellular mediators of fibrogenesis in keloid scars. ⋯ These results suggest a potential role for FAP-α and DPPIV in the invasive behavior of keloids. FAP-α and DPPIV may increase the invasive capacity of keloid fibroblasts rather than by modulating inflammation or ECM production. Since FAP-α expression is restricted to reactive fibroblasts in wound healing and normal adult tissues are generally FAP-α negative, inhibiting FAP-α/DPPIV activity may be a novel treatment option to prevent keloid progression.
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Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Dec 2010
Protease-activated receptor-2 mediates the expression of inflammatory cytokines, antimicrobial peptides, and matrix metalloproteinases in keratinocytes in response to Propionibacterium acnes.
Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) has been known to produce various exogenous proteases, however, their role in acne pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Proteases elicit cellular responses, at least in part, via proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), which is known to mediate inflammation and immune response. In this study, we investigated whether proteases from P. acnes could activate PAR-2 on keratinocytes and induce pro-inflammatory cytokines, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) via PAR-2 signaling. ⋯ We found that the protease activity and PAR-2 expression were increased in acne lesions. The P. acnes culture supernatant induced calcium signaling in keratinocytes via PAR-2 and stimulated the mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-1α, -8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, human beta defensin (hBD)-2, LL-37, MMP-1, -2, -3, -9, and -13 in keratinocytes, which was significantly inhibited by serine protease inhibitor as well as selective PAR-2 specific antagonist. These results indicate that PAR-2 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acne by inducing inflammatory mediators in response to proteases secreted from P. acnes.
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Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Nov 2010
Comparative StudyThe usefulness of sebum check film for measuring the secretion of sebum.
Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) often present with dry skin, and the reduced secretion of sebum may be responsible for the impaired skin barrier function. A sebum check film enables the patient to self-evaluate the skin sebum content. This study compared the sebum check film with a sebumeter. ⋯ In addition, the sebum fields on the sebum check film of AD patients (n = 26) were significantly less than those on the sebum check film of the controls (n = 30; p < 0.05). Furthermore, the analysis of the sebum fields on the sebum check film of the AD patients was significantly correlated with their sebum content findings that were obtained using a sebumeter (r = 0.592, p < 0.01). These findings indicate that the sebum check film is easy to use for measuring the sebum secretion and is suitable for self-checking the sebum contents by AD patients for daily skin care.
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Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Oct 2010
The association of the BLK gene with SLE was replicated in Chinese Han.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the region of B lymphoid tyrosine kinase (BLK) have been shown to be associated with SLE in Caucasian population. In this paper, we genotyped SNP rs2248932 in 1,396 SLE patients of Chinese Han and 4,362 ethnically matched control subjects by using the Sequenom MassArray system. ⋯ We did not find the association between this SNP and any subphenotype of SLE. The SNP rs2248932 was correlated to the expression of BLK mRNA. We conclude that the association of the BLK region with SLE was replicated in Chinese Han population living in mainland.
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Melanogenesis is a physiological process that results in the synthesis of melanin pigments, which play a crucial protective role against skin photocarcinogenesis. The present study was conducted to determine the inhibitory effects of propafenone on melanogenesis and to elucidate the molecular events involved in the inhibition of melanogenesis by propafenone. To accomplish this, several experiments were conducted using human epidermal melanocyte cells. ⋯ The level of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) protein, the upstream transcription factor of tyrosinase, was also reduced by propafenone. In addition, propafenone inhibited the expression of tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2. Taken together, the results of our study show that propafenone inhibits melanogenesis by suppressing cAMP production, which is involved in the expression of melanogenesis-related proteins and suggests that propafenone may be an effective inhibitor of hyperpigmentation.