IL-9 receptor signaling in memory B cells regulates humoral recall responses.

Memory B cells (Bmem cells) are the basis of long-lasting humoral immunity. They respond to re-encountered antigens by rapidly producing specific antibodies and forming germinal centers (GCs), a recall response that has been known for decades but remains poorly understood. We found that the receptor for the cytokine IL-9 (IL-9R) was induced selectively on Bmem cells after primary immunization and that IL-9R-deficient mice exhibited a normal primary antibody response but impaired recall antibody responses, with attenuated population expansion and plasma-cell differentiation of Bmem cells. In contrast, there was augmented GC formation, possibly due to defective downregulation of the ligand for the co-stimulatory receptor ICOS on Bmem cells. A fraction of Bmem cells produced IL-9. These findings indicate that IL-9R signaling in Bmem cells regulates humoral recall responses.

Binaural rendering from microphone array signals of arbitrary geometry.

A method of binaural rendering from microphone array signals of arbitrary geometry is proposed. To reproduce binaural signals from microphone array recordings at a remote location, a spherical microphone array is generally used for capturing a soundfield. However, owing to the lack of flexibility in the microphone arrangement, the single spherical array is sometimes impractical for estimating a large region of a soundfield. We propose a method based on harmonic analysis of infinite order, which allows the use of arbitrarily placed microphones. In the synthesis of the estimated soundfield, a spherical-wave-decomposition-based binaural rendering is also formulated to take into consideration the distance in measuring head-related transfer functions. We develop and evaluate a composite microphone array consisting of multiple small arrays. Experimental results including those of listening tests indicate that our proposed method is robust against change in listening position in the recording area.

Sparse sound field decomposition for super-resolution in recording and reproduction.

A sound field recording and reproduction method based on sparse sound field decomposition is proposed. Most current methods are based on plane-wave or harmonic decomposition of the pressure distribution obtained by microphones, which leads to spatial aliasing artifacts with severe effects. This paper proposes a method for sound field decomposition based on a generative model of the sound field consisting of near-field source components and far-field plane-wave components. Since the distribution of the near-field source components can be assumed to be spatially sparse, the pressure distribution obtained by the microphones can be decomposed into these two components using sparse decomposition algorithms. Using the proposed method, the sound field can be more accurately interpolated and super-resolution in recording and reproduction can be achieved. Experimental results show that the reproduction accuracy above the spatial Nyquist frequency determined by the microphone intervals was improved compared with that of the current methods.

Analytical approach to transforming filter design for sound field recording and reproduction using circular arrays with a spherical baffle.

A sound field recording and reproduction method using circular arrays of microphones and loudspeakers with a spherical baffle is proposed. The spherical baffle is an acoustically rigid object on which the microphone array is mounted. The driving signals of the loudspeakers must be obtained from the signals received by the microphones. A transform filter for this signal conversion is analytically derived, which is referred to as the wave field reconstruction filter. The proposed method using a spherical baffle is compared with methods using an array of directional microphones and a microphone array mounted on a cylindrical baffle. Numerical simulations indicated that the proposed method is advantageous for sound field recording and reproduction compared with the other two methods. The results of measurement experiments in a real environment are also demonstrated.

Clinical characteristics of patients with psoriasis with family history: A multicenter observational study.

Previous studies on family history of psoriasis showed that patients with a family history have an earlier onset of the disease, but such studies in Japan are still limited. To elucidate the characteristics of patients with familial psoriasis, we studied the family history of patients with psoriasis using the West Japan Psoriasis Registry, a multi-institutional registry operated by 26 facilities in the western part of Japan, including university hospitals, community hospitals, and clinics. This study enrolled 1847 patients registered between September 2019 and December 2021, with 199 (10.8%) having a family history of psoriasis. Patients with a family history of psoriasis had significantly earlier onset of the disease than those without a family history. Furthermore, patients with a family history of psoriasis had significantly longer disease duration. Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) was significantly more common in patients with a family history (69/199, 34.7%) than in those without a family history (439/1648, 26.6%) (adjusted P = 0.023). A subanalysis of patients with PsA revealed a significant difference in the patient global assessment (PaGA) score in Fisher's exact test and adjusted test. The numbers of patients with PaGA 0/1 were 29 (43.3%) and 172 (39.9%) in patients with PsA with and without family history of psoriasis, respectively, whereas the numbers of patients with PaGA 3/4 were 13 (19.4%) and 145 (33.6%) in patients with PsA with and without family history of psoriasis, respectively. Other disease severity variables did not show a difference between the two groups. Our findings suggest that genetics play a larger role in the development of PsA than in the development of psoriasis vulgaris. Most cases of PsA occur in patients who already have psoriasis, therefore dermatologists should pay attention to joint symptoms, especially in patients with psoriasis who have a family history of psoriasis.

Real-world experiences of apremilast in clinics for Japanese patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis, though not an immediately life-threatening disorder, still lowers quality of life and disrupts daily functions. While many treatments for psoriasis exist, few are convenient and safe long term; even if sufficiently effective, treatments themselves often decrease quality of life and make long-term treatment adherence difficult. Approved in Japan in December 2016, apremilast was expected to function as a simple, long-term, systemic therapeutic agent for psoriasis. We report on the clinical outcomes of administrating apremilast for 2 years as observed in 46 psoriatic patients at the Saruwatari Dermatology Clinic between March 2017 and February 2019. We believe the ease of clinic consultation (as compared with large general hospital consultation) draws patients who are busy or have mild symptoms, and consequently poor adherence to regular visits and treatment, reflecting realistic conditions. Major adverse events with apremilast treatment were diarrhea (37.0%) and nausea (15.3%), with most cases of diarrhea being mild. Drug survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier method revealed a 1-year continuation rate of 46.8% and a 2-year continuation rate of 37.4%. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores during the observation period declined from 9.3 to 2.8 (P < 0.0001) on average, with the DLQI-0/1 achievement rate being 28.6%. Based on our findings, we conclude that apremilast is suitable as a long-lasting basic treatment that is easy to prescribe in small clinics and easy to use in everyday life.

Genetic analysis of the ferrochelatase gene in eight Japanese patients from seven families with erythropoietic protoporphyria.

A decrease in the activity of ferrochelatase (FECH; EC 4.99.1.1), the terminal enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway, results in erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP; MIM 177000). We analyzed the FECHgene in eight Japanese EPP patients from seven non-consanguineous families and found two distinct genomic DNA abnormalities. In six patients from five families, there was a G-to-A point-mutation at the first position of the intron 9 donor site; it resulted in aberrant splicing and skipping of exon 9 in FECH mRNA. In one patient, we found an A-to-G point-mutation 4 bases from the 3" terminus of intron 4 that led to the in-frame insertion of 3 bases in mRNA. No allelic anomalies, except for 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in another patient. We analyzed intron polymorphism at IVS3-48, known to be associated with the phenotypic expression of EPP, in these eight patients and 152 healthy Japanese volunteers. All patients were C/C homozygous for IVS3-48. The allelic frequency of IVS3-48C polymorphism in the healthy Japanese volunteers was 67.8% (103/152).

Trichothiodystrophy group A: a first Japanese patient with a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in the GTF2H5 gene.

Trichothiodystrophy group A (TTD-A) is one of the three types of photosensitive TTD and is a very rare genodermatosis with deficient post-ultraviolet (UV) DNA repair. We herein describe the first Japanese case with a novel mutation in the GTF2H5 gene responsible for TTD-A. A 5-year-old male, born as a collodion baby from healthy non-consanguineous parents, exhibited sun sensitivity, brittle hair, ichthyosis, cataracts and mental/physical retardation. He demonstrated neither neurological abnormalities nor pigmentary changes following sun exposure. The patient's primary fibroblasts were hypersensitive to killing by UV (D0  = 1.5 J/m(2) ), and the post-UV unscheduled DNA synthesis was 13% of normal. A host cell reactivation complementation analysis showed a decreased DNA capacity without recovery after transfecting any xeroderma pigmentosum genes. We identified a novel homozygous mutation (c.166G>T) in the coding region of the GTF2H5 gene that resulted in a predicted amino acid change: p.E55X. Thus far, only one Japanese case of TTD with a mutation of the XPD gene had been reported. The present case is the first of TTD-A and the second case of TTD in Japan, suggesting that it is necessary to differentiate TTD from other photosensitive disorders, although the incidence of TTD is very low in Japan compared to that observed in Western countries.

Evaluation of a newly-developed immunochromatography strip test for diagnosing dermatophytosis.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, dermatophytosis, a common disease affecting millions of people world-wide, has been diagnosed by direct microscopy and fungal culture. The immunochromatography (ICG) strip test was recently developed. METHODS: We compared the performance of the ICG strip test for the detection of dermatophytes in samples from human skin and nails with direct microscopy. The 160 samples, consisting of 88 skin and 72 nail specimens, were subjected to direct microscopy study using a 20% KOH solution and to examination with the ICG strip test. Of 160 samples, 18 were examined by fungal culture using Sabouraud dextrose agar medium. RESULTS: We found that the overall sensitivity and specificity of the ICG test were 83.5% and 66.7%; they were 82.1% and 76.2% for the 88 skin and 85.4% and 58.3% for the 72 nail specimens, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the efficacy of the ICG test is comparable to direct microscopy for the detection of dermatophytes. Performance of the assay was easy, and results were available quickly. We suggest that it is an effective tool for dermatophytosis screening.

Treatment of pustular psoriasis with granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis.

We studied the efficacy of granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis in 2 patients with pustular psoriasis, one localized, the other generalized. Treatment with granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis resulted in remarkable clearing of the skin lesions, suggesting that this therapy is a valuable tool for treating patients with intractable skin diseases attributable to activated granulocytes. We present detailed descriptions of these patients and this novel therapy.