Generalized granuloma annulare in an infant clinically manifested as papules and atrophic macules: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Granuloma annulare (GA) has diverse clinical manifestations including papules, plaques, and nodules on the extremities that are skin-colored, pink, or purple. Approximately 15% of all GA cases are considered generalized GA. CASE SUMMARY: Herein, we describe the case of a pediatric patient who initially presented with papules and later developed generalized atrophic macules. Upon examination, two different morphologic lesions were histopathologically confirmed: Epithelioid nodular GA and scattered histiocytic infiltrative GA. This patient exhibited rare clinical manifestations that differed throughout the course of the disease. The varying histopathological types and clinical manifestations of GA may be linked to the different stages of the disease. CONCLUSION: This rare case demonstrates the different histopathological features of different stages and clinical manifestations of granuloma annulare in an infant.

Elastic fiber degradation in the development of pediatric granuloma annulare: Report of 39 cases.

BACKGROUND: Granuloma annulare (GA) has diverse clinical manifestations, multiple subtypes, and unknown etiology and pathogenesis. Existing studies regarding GA in children are scarce. AIM: To examine the correlation between clinical manifestation and histopathology of pediatric GA. METHODS: A total of 39 patients under 18 years of age with both a clinical and pathological diagnosis of GA at Kunming Children's Hospital from 2017 to 2022 were retrieved. Their medical records were consulted, and clinical data of the children were recorded and summarized, including gender, age, disease site, etc. Existing wax blocks of skin lesion specimens of children and pathological films were retrieved for further study and relevant histology, including hematoxylin-eosin, Alcian blue, elastic fiber (Victoria blue-Lichon red method), and antacid staining. Finally, the children's clinical manifestations, histopathological results, and special staining characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical manifestations of granuloma annulare in children were diverse: 11 cases presented with a single lesion, 25 with multiple lesions, and 3 with generalized lesions. The pathological typing comprised histiocytic infiltration, palisading granuloma, epithelioid nodular, and mixed types in 4, 11, 9, and 15 cases, respectively. Thirty-nine cases were negative for antacid staining. The positive rate of Alcian blue staining was 92.3%, and that of elastic fiber staining was 100%. The degree of elastic fiber dissolution and granuloma annulare histopathological typing were positively correlated (r = 0.432, P < 0.05). No correlation was found between clinical presentation and histopathological typing of the granuloma annulare in children. In the pathological diagnosis of granuloma annulare, the positive elastic fiber staining rate was higher than that of Alcian blue staining. A correlation was found between elastic fiber dissolution degree and histopathological staging. However, the differences in pathological staging may have been related to the pathological manifestation of granuloma annulare at different periods. CONCLUSION: Elastic fiber degradation may be a critical step in the pathogenesis of pediatric granuloma annulare. This is also one of the first studies focused on granuloma annulare in children.

[Effects of Interleukin-6 Gene Knockout on ß-amyloid Deposition and Cognition in 5×FAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease].

Objective To explore the effects of interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene knockout on the cognitive function and pathological changes in 5×FAD transgenic mice of Alzheimer's disease.Methods IL-6+/- mice were crossed with 5×FAD mice to establish the 5×FAD;IL-6-/- mouse model,and 3-month-old and 10-month-old mice were selected for experiments.The cognitive function of mice was detected by behavioral tests,and HE staining and ß-amyloid (Aß) immunohistochemical staining were performed to detect the pathological changes of mouse brain tissue.Results The number of 5×FAD;IL-6-/- model mice (3 months old,n=20;10 months old,n=5) and 5×FAD littermate control (3 months old,n=26;10 months old,n=24) conformed to the Mendel's law.Compared with that of the 5×FAD mice at the same age,the discrimination ratio of 3-month-old 5×FAD;IL-6-/- mice increased in the novel object recognition test (q=3.890,P=0.002).Morris water maze test results showed that the 3-month-old 5×FAD;IL-6-/- mice had longer time spent in target quadrant (q=3.797,P=0.012) and more times of crossing platform (q=2.505,P=0.017) than the 5×FAD mice at the same age.The results of immunohistochemical staining showed that IL-6 knockout reduced the Aß deposition in the hippocampus (q=13.490,P=0.002;q=45.680,P<0.001) and cortex (q=16.830,P=0.001;q=14.180,P=0.001) of 5×FAD mice.Conclusion IL-6 gene knockout can significantly improve the spatial memory and reduce the Aß deposition in the brain of 5×FAD mice.

Expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced protein 8 in pancreas tissues and its correlation with epithelial growth factor receptor levels.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8 or TIPE) is a recently identified protein considered to be associated with carcinogenesis. To investigate its expression pattern in pancreatic cancer patients and to analyse its correlation with clinicopathological significance and the expression levels of epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the TNFAIP8 and EGFR proteins in pancreatic cancers, pancreatitis tissues, and healthy controls. The results showed stronger staining of TNFAIP8 protein in pancreatic cancer tissues compared with normal pancreas tissue. Furthermore, in 56 patients with pancreatic cancer, the expression levels of TNFAIP8 in patients with low tumor stage was higher than that with high tumor stage, and correlated with tumor staging and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Furthermore, TNFAIP8 expression positively correlated with EGFR levels (r=0.671135, P<0.05). These results indicate that TNFAIP8 may play important roles in the progression of pancreatic cancer.