NUSAP1 regulates basal cell carcinoma migration, invasion and DNA damage through activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Background: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a prevalent cutaneous cancer with an increasing incidence. Nucleolar and spindle associated protein 1 (NUSAP1) is a cell proliferation-related protein that participates in the development of various cancers. However, its role and mechanism in BCC remain elusive. Methods: The expression of NUSAP1 was detected by western blot. Gain- and loss-of-function assays were performed through the transfection of overexpression plasmid of NUSAP1 and si NUSAP1 into TE354.T cells. The role and mechanism of action of NUSAP1 in BCC were explored by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), colony formation, transwell, flow cytometry and western blot assays. Results: NUSAP1 was highly expressed in TE354.T cells. Overexpression of NUSAP1 enhanced cell viability, colony forming numbers, numbers of migrated and invasive cells and the relative protein expression of RAD51, but reduced the apoptosis rate and the relative protein expression of γH2AX in TE354.T cells. Inverse results were obtained in these indicators after TE354.T cells were downregulated with NUSAP1. Moreover, the relative expression of proteins involved in the Hedgehog signaling pathway was increased by transfection of the overexpression plasmid of NUSAP1 into TE354.T cells, but decreased by the transfection of si NUSAP1 into TE354.T cells. Conclusion: Both gain- and loss-of-function results revealed that NUSAP1 promoted proliferation, migration and invasion but attenuated apoptosis and DNA damage in BCC, which was involved in the activation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway.

Efficacy and Safety of Intensive Nonsedating Antihistamines for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of intensive versus standard nonsedating antihistamines (NSAs) for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients. METHODS: An electronic search was performed on the PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) throughout January 2021. The weighted mean difference (WMD) and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were applied to calculate the pooled outcomes for the continuous and categorical data using the random-effects model. RESULTS: Nine RCTs involving 1,996 CSU patients were selected. We found that intensive NSA was associated with greater reduction in the mean pruritus score than the standard dose of NSA (WMD: -0.13; p = 0.005). However, there was no significant difference between the intensive and standard dose of NSA in terms of the rate of response to antihistamines (RR: 1.00; p = 0.865). Finally, the use of intensive NSA was associated with a higher risk of somnolence than the use of standard NSA (RR: 3.28; 95% CI: 1.55-6.95; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: We found that the use of intensive NSA could achieve greater reduction in the mean pruritus score, without increasing the risk of adverse events.

Identifying risk factors for the prognosis of head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

In this study, we sought to identify the potential impacts of disease characteristics on the prognosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). We searched the PubMed, EmBase, and Cochrane Library databases from their inception until February 2020 to identify studies that investigated the prognosis of cSCC. The pooled effect estimates were applied using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and were calculated using the random-effects model. Forty-three studies including a total of 21,530 patients and reporting 28,627 cases of cSCC were selected for the final meta-analysis. Poor differentiation (OR, 3.54; 95% CI, 2.30-5.46; P < 0.001), perineural invasion (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.60-6.67; P = 0.001), Breslow greater than 2 mm (OR, 5.47; 95% CI, 2.63-11.37; P < 0.001), diameter greater than 20 mm (OR, 4.62; 95% CI, 2.95-7.23; P < 0.001), and location on temple (OR, 3.20; 95% CI, 1.12-9.15; P = 0.030) were associated with an increased risk of recurrence, whereas immunosuppression status and location on cheek, ear, or lip were not associated with the risk of recurrence. Poor differentiation (OR, 6.82; 95% CI, 4.66-9.99; P < 0.001); perineural invasion (OR, 7.15; 95% CI, 4.73-10.83; P < 0.001); Breslow greater than 2 mm (OR, 6.11; 95% CI, 4.05-9.21; P < 0.001); diameter greater than 20 mm (OR, 5.01; 95% CI, 2.56-9.80; P < 0.001); and location on ear (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.39-4.09; P = 0.002), lip (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.26-3.68; P = 0.005), and temple (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.20-6.40; P = 0.017) were associated with an increased risk of metastasis, whereas immunosuppression status and location on cheek did not affect the risk of metastasis. Finally, poor differentiation (OR, 5.97; 95% CI, 1.82-19.62; P = 0.003), perineural invasion (OR, 6.64; 95% CI, 3.63-12.12; P < 0.001), and Breslow greater than 2 mm (OR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.76-6.66; P < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of disease-specific death, whereas diameter; immunosuppression status; and location on ear, lip, and temple did not affect the risk of disease-specific death. We found that differentiation, perineural invasion, depth, diameter, and location could affect the prognosis of cSCC. The potential role of other patient characteristics on the prognosis of cSCC should be identified in further large-scale prospective studies.

A case of cutaneous pseudolymphoma with a distinctive appearance treated successfully by intralesional interferon alpha-1b and corticosteroids.

Cutaneous pseudolymphoma (CPL) encompasses various forms of benign lymphocytic proliferative dermatoses that mimic the clinical and/or pathological changes of lymphoma. The clinical manifestations of CPL vary due to differences in the pathogenesis, and accordingly, no specific treatment has been identified. Here, we report a case of CPL on the nose, which had a distinctive appearance and was treated successfully using a combination of intralesional interferon alpha-1b and compound betamethasone (betamethasone sodium phosphate and betamethasone dipropionate). This combination may be a good option for localized CPLs at particular anatomical sites.