Pathogen Analysis of Superficial Mucocutaneous Mycosis in a Tertiary A-level Hospital from 2007 to 2018.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the fungal species of pathogens isolated from patients with superficial mucocutaneous mycosis from May 2007 to December 2018. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was carried out to determine the pathogenic fungi isolated from patients with superficial fungal infections in the Medical Mycology Clinical Laboratory, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Union Hospital, from May 2007 to December 2018. RESULTS: A total of 7639 strains were obtained, belonging to 21 genera and 36 species. They mainly consisted of Candida (3707/7639, 48.53%) and dermatophytes (3594/7639, 47.05%). The specimens were skin scales, nail shavings, secretions on the nail grooves, broken or diseased hair and dandruff, secretions or pseudomembrane of the external genitalia, and the oral mucosa. A total of 7300 patients were enrolled in this study, including 3301 males and 3999 females aged 2 months to 92 years old with a median age of 46.04 years old except for 633 patients whose ages were unknown. Two strains of different species were isolated from each of 339 patients at different body sites. The most frequent species were Trichophyton rubrum complex (2906/7639, 38.04%), Candida albicans (2619/7639, 34.28%), and unclassified Candida spp. Dermatophytes were mostly isolated from glabrous skin (2138/3594, 59.49%), with T. rubrum complex being the predominant species. Candida strains were most commonly isolated from mucosal sites (1979/3707, 53.39%), and C. albicans was the most prevalent causative agent. CONCLUSION: The main distribution of pathogenic fungal species isolated from patients with superficial mycosis from 2007 to 2018 in Wuhan, Hubei province and the surrounding areas was that Candida slightly outnumbered dermatophytes. Among all of the isolated strains, T. rubrum complex was the most abundant.

Interleukin-22 and connective tissue diseases: emerging role in pathogenesis and therapy.

Interleukin-22 (IL-22), a member of the IL-10 family of cytokines, is produced by a number of immune cells involved in the immune microenvironment of the body. IL-22 plays its pivotal roles by binding to the IL-22 receptor complex (IL-22R) and subsequently activating the IL-22R downstream signalling pathway. It has recently been reported that IL-22 also contributes to the pathogenesis of many connective tissue diseases (CTDs). In this review, we will discuss the role of IL-22 in several CTDs, such as system lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis, suggesting that IL-22 may be a potential therapeutic target in CTDs.

Multicentre clinicopathological study of adenoid cystic carcinoma: A report of 296 cases.

AIMS: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a distinctive tumour. Limited studies involving a large population have reported multicentre systematic analyses of the clinical, pathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) features of ACC as well as the potential role of IHC markers in the prognosis of ACC. METHODS AND RESULTS: The clinical, histopathological and IHC data of 296 cases obtained from two tertiary hospitals were analysed. The age at onset ranged from 12 to 87 years with a median age of 52 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.3. Patients with ACC arising from the lacrimal gland were younger than those with tumours arising from other sites. Patients with tumours in the extra auditory canal and nasopharynx were older than those with tumours in other locations. Histopathologically, solid type ACC was the most frequent in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus (6/51) group. Tumours arising from the oral cavity most commonly showed perineural invasion (10/60) and margin positivity (11/60). IHC analyses showed that CK8/18, CK7, CK14, epithelial membrane antigen and CD117 were expressed in 35/35 (100%), 87/88 (98.8%), 26/27 (96.2%), 42/43 (97.6%) and 113/120 (94.1%) patients, respectively. CK5/6, P63, smooth muscle actin, calponin and S100 were positively expressed in 73/73 (100%), 111/124 (89.5%), 38/43 (88.3%), 41/50 (82.0%) and 61/92 (66.3%) cases, respectively. S100 proteins were expressed in 54 (54/77) primary cases and two (2/9) metastatic cases (p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: ACC is a distinctive tumour that mainly affects middle-aged and elderly individuals, with a mild female predominance. Loss of expression of S100 proteins may be a poor prognostic factor associated with metastasis.