Histological and molecular restoration of type VII collagen in Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa mouse skin by topical injection of keratinocyte-like cells differentiated from human adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

BACKGROUND: Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) is a severe skin fragility disorder caused by mutations in the COL7A1 gene, which encodes type VII collagen (COL7), the main constituent of anchoring fibrils for attaching the epidermis to the dermis. Persistent skin erosions frequently result in intractable ulcers in RDEB patients. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AD-MSCs) are easily harvested in large quantities and have low immunogenicity. Therefore, they are suitable for clinical use, including applications involving allogeneic cell transplantation. Keratinocyte-like cells transdifferentiated from AD-MSCs (KC-AD-MSCs) express more COL7 than undifferentiated AD-MSCs and facilitate skin wound healing with less contracture. Therefore, these cells can be used for skin ulcer treatment in RDEB patients. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether KC-AD-MSCs transplantation ameliorated the RDEB phenotype severity in the grafted skin of a RDEB mouse model (col7a1-null) on the back of the immunodeficient mouse. METHODS: KC-AD-MSCs were intradermally injected into the region surrounding the skin grafts, and this procedure was repeated after 7 days. After a further 7-day interval, the skin grafts were harvested. RESULTS: Neodeposition of COL7 and generation of anchoring fibrils at the dermal-epidermal junction were observed, although experiments were based on qualitative. CONCLUSION: KC-AD-MSCs may correct the COL7 insufficiency, repair defective/reduced anchoring fibrils, and improve skin integrity in RDEB patients.

Risk factors for the development of tinea pedis and onychomycosis: Real-world evidence from a single-podiatry center, large-scale database in Japan.

Dermatomycosis, including tinea pedis and onychomycosis, is frequently encountered in routine medical care in Japan. Identifying the risk factors for tinea pedis and onychomycosis development is important to encourage hospital visits by patients who may have these diseases but who are not undergoing any treatment. This approach may lead to the prevention of disease progression and the spread of infections to others. Risk factors for onychomycosis development have been reported both in and outside of Japan. However, most of the risk factors were identified based on a multicenter, questionnaire survey study and included evidence obtained from unclear or inconsistent diagnostic criteria for tinea pedis, onychomycosis, and identified risk factors. The current study analyzed the risk factors for developing tinea pedis and onychomycosis in real-world practice in Japan using a single-center, large-scale database that included the data of patients managed with consistent diagnostic criteria at the Podiatry Center of Juntendo University Hospital. A total of 2476 patients (1012 males, 1464 females) with a mean age of 63.4 years were included. Among these patients, 337 (13.6%) had tinea pedis and 346 (14.0%) had onychomycosis. A total of 259 patients (~ 75% of each patient population) had both diseases concomitantly. Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for the possible risk factors of age (per 10 years), sex, diabetes, dialysis, visual impairment, ulcer history, lower-limb ischemia (LLI), and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) revealed that advanced age, male sex, diabetes, and LLI were independent risk factors for the development of tinea pedis. In addition, DPN was an independent risk factor for developing onychomycosis. We believe that these data are useful for identifying patients who are at high risk of developing tinea pedis and onychomycosis, which may result in disease prevention and suppression in real-world clinical practice in Japan.

X-ray energy dependence of the properties of the focused beams produced by polycapillary X-ray lens.

We investigated X-ray energy distribution in an X-ray microbeam produced by a polycapillary X-ray lens in combination with a sealed-type X-ray tube. This polycapillary X-ray lens has an output focal distance (OFD) of approximately 15 mm. The size of the X-ray microbeam and its OFD were estimated by using a wire scanning method. In our case, the sizes of the X-ray microbeams at the output focal distance were 49 microm for Mo L(alpha), 36 microm for W L(alpha), and 28 microm for Mo K(alpha). The spot sizes depend on the energy of the X-ray fluorescence. The reason for the energy dependence is that X-ray capillary optics is based on the principle of propagation through glass capillaries by means of X-ray total external reflection. The evaluated OFD values of Mo L(alpha) and Mo K(alpha) were slightly changed in 17 microm. However, a deviation of 100 microm from the OFD caused only a 3% increase of the focal spot size. Therefore, we concluded that the OFD showed no significant dependence on X-ray energy.