Comprehensive treatment of ear keloid: A case report.

RATIONALE: Ear keloid is one of the more common forms of keloid, which may cause pain and itching, and is aesthetically unappealing. Recurrence is common with any monotherapy which prompted a comprehensive, multidimensional approach. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 24-year-old female was evaluated in our department on April 6, 2021, due to an "8-year recurrence following a left ear keloid resection." In July 2013, a left auricle keloid excision was performed in a local hospital. One year following the operation, the scar at the surgical site had proliferated, gradually spreading beyond the original scar borders. Patients worry about recurrence after surgery affecting the appearance of the ear. DIAGNOSIS: Ear keloid. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent a 2-stage re-resection of the keloid, followed by postoperative radiotherapy, and triamcinolone acetonide injection around the incision at the time of the second operation. Finally, silicone gel was applied for antiscar treatment. OUTCOMES: There has been no postoperative recurrence of ear keloid during the 12-month follow-up. LESSONS: For ear keloids, combination therapy offers an improved approach with an excellent aesthetic appearance and less risk of recurrence than traditional monotherapy.

[Preliminary study on inhibition of the hair follicle development by siRNA targeting Wnt10b in the cultured rat embryonic skin].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the suppression of Wnt10b by siRNA could prevent the development of hair follicle in the cultured rat embryonic skin. METHODS: siRNA-Wnt10b was synthesized by chemosynthesis method. The dorsal skin of SD rat at embryos were cultured in DMEM in the presence of different percentage of interfering RNA targeting Wnt10b. Wnt10b/beta-catenin expression was analyzed by real-time PCR everyday and by Western blot on the third day. The cultured embryonic skin underwent paraffin embedding, section, HE staining on the third day,in which the number of de novo hair follicle was calculated and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Wnt10b gene in the cultured embryonic skin could be knocked down with the siRNA-based method. Beta-catenin mRNA was not greatly influenced by the downregulation of Wnt10b mRNA. The number of de novo hair follicle placode in cultured embryonic skin decreased, along with the downregulation of Wnt10b and beta-catenin proteins expression. CONCLUSIONS: The downregulation of Wnt10b mRNA and protein by siRNA reduces the number of de novo hair follicle placode in the cultured rat embryonic skin. Wnt10b may control cytoplasm beta-catenin concentration at the protein level.

Stem-cell-activated organ following ultrasound exposure: better transplant option for organ transplantation.

Although doctors try their best to protect transplants during surgery, there remain great challenges for the higher survival rate and less rejection of transplants after organ transplantation. Growing evidence indicates that the stem cells could function after injury rather than aging, implying that suitable injury may activate the stem cells of damaged organs. Furthermore, it has been revealed that stem cells can be used to induce tolerance in transplantation and the ultrasound has great biological effects on organs. Basing on these facts, we hypothesize that the stem cells within the transplants can be activated by ultrasound with high-frequency and medium-intensity. Therefore, the stem-cell-activated organs (SCAO) can be derived, and the SCAO will be better transplant option for organ transplantation. We postulate the ultrasound can change the molecular activity and/or quantity of the stem cells, the membrane permeability, the cell-cell junctions, and their surrounding microenvironments. As a result, the stem cells are activated, and the SCAO will acquire more regenerative capacity and less rejection. In the paper, we also discuss the process, methods and models for verifying the theory, and the consequences. We believe the theory may provide a practical method for the clinical application of the ultrasound and stem cells in organ transplantation.

The most efficient follicular regenerating unit and the smallest follicular regenerating unit: potential treatments for hair loss.

Hair loss affects many people, especially adult males. An effective treatment is hair transplantation which involves harvesting hair grafts from a donor site and relocating them to a bald site. However, this traditional method, equivalent to one-to-one transplantation, simply redistributes hair rather than increases the number of existing hairs. Although hair transplantation is actually the transplantation of hair follicle (HF), it has been confirmed that whole HFs could be reformed from parts of HFs containing different constituents, implying the existence of more efficient and smaller HF regenerating units in a whole HF. Thus we hypothesize that the most efficient follicular regenerating unit (EFRU) and the smallest follicular regenerating unit (SFRU) could be found in whole HFs. As a result, the one-to-many hair transplantation would be achieved in clinic. One-to-many means to double or triple the number of hairs. In order to test and verify the hypothesis, we design a method called hair follicle micro-dissection (HFM) which aims to help find the regenerating units and increase the number of hair for transplantation. The postulation may provide a more mature and realistic treatment for hair loss if it proved to be practical.

Microencapsulated human hair dermal papilla cells: a substitute for dermal papilla?

Dermal papillae (DP) play a pivotal role in hair formation, growth and cycling. However, the number of DP is limited. In this study, we report the production of "reconstructed DP" by enclosing DP cells within an alginate-polylysine-alginate (APA) semipermeable membrane. MTT assay and electron microscopy showed that the microencapsulated dermal papilla cells retained normal activity. The microcapsules were implanted into rat footpads, which lack follicles and sebaceous glands, to assess their inductive properties. Histologic examination showed that numbers of follicle and sebaceous gland structures formed in the footpads within 6-10-week period. At the 10 weeks following transplantation, hair fibers were visible in the footpad. These findings indicate that the DP cell microcapsules retain the capacity to initiate follicle regeneration and could be considered a substitute for fresh isolated DPs.