Calcinosis universalis accompanied by symptomatic systemic sclerosis.

Calcinosis cutis is represented by the deposition of insoluble calcium salts in the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Calcinosis can lead to repeated episodes of local inflammation and repeated infections, resulting in pain and functional disability, and even death. Here, we present a case of a patient with SSc who experienced calcinosis universalis and eventually died from recurrent infections at the sacrococcygeal calcification.

Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides alleviates UV-provoked skin cell damage via regulation of thioredoxin interacting protein and thioredoxin reductase 2.

INTRODUCTION: Skin is exposed to a wide range of environmental risk factors including ultraviolet (UV) and all kinds of pollutants. Excessive UV exposure contributes to many disorders, such as photoaging, skin inflammation, and carcinogenesis. Previous studies have shown that Tremella fuciformis polysaccharides (TFPS) have protective effects on oxidative stress in cells, but the specific protective mechanism has not been clarified. METHODS: To determine the effects of TFPS on UV-irritated human skin, we conducted a variety of studies, including Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), trypan blue, Western blot, apoptosis assays, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection in primary skin keratinocytes, and chronic UV-irradiated mouse model. RESULTS: We first determined that TFPS protects human skin keratinocytes against UV radiation-induced apoptosis and ROS production. Moreover, TFPS regulates thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) and thioredoxin reductase 2 (TXNRD2) levels in primary skin keratinocytes for photoprotection. Last, we found that topical TFPS treatment could alleviate the UV-induced skin damage in chronic UV-irradiated mouse model. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our work indicates the beneficial role of TFPS in UV-induced skin cell damage and provides a novel therapeutic reagent to prevent or alleviate the progress of photoaging and other UV-provoked skin diseases.

Expression of survivin and human telomerase reverse transcriptase in extramammary Paget's disease.

BACKGROUND: Extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD) is a rare neoplasm of apocrine gland-bearing skin. It is known that over-expression of survivin and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) correlates with malignancies. We investigated the expression of hTERT and survivin by Paget's cells and their role in the tissue invasion and recurrence of EMPD. METHOD: Forty-two patients were enrolled into the study. Expression of survivin and hTERT were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques. The variables including the expression level of survivin and hTERT, gender, age, lesion location, invasion level and number of surgeries were statistically analyzed using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Survivin was positively stained in 18 of 22 cases (81.8%), and hTERT in 18 of 29 cases (62.1%). Significantly higher level of survivin expression was detected in patients with multiple surgeries than those with single one (p = 0.0458). Expression of hTERT was significantly higher in the patients with micro-invasive and invasive lesions than those with non-invasive lesions (p = 0.0478). CONCLUSIONS: Over-expression of survivin and hTERT correlated strongly with recurrence and local invasion of EMPD lesions. EMPD has male gender predominance in Oriental population.

Kanglaite attenuates UVB-induced down-regulation of aquaporin-3 in cultured human skin keratinocytes.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of skin photoaging. Depending on the wavelength of UV, the epidermis is affected primarily by UVB. One major characteristic of photoaging is the dehydration of the skin. Membrane-inserted water channels (aquaporins) are involved in this process. In this study we demonstrated that UVB radiation induced aquaporin-3 (AQP3) down-regulation in cultured human skin keratinocytes. Kanglaite is a mixture consisting of extractions of Coix Seed, which is an effective anti-neoplastic agent and can inhibit the activities of protein kinase C and NF-κB. We demonstrated that Kanglaite inhibited UVB-induced AQP3 down-regulation of cultured human skin keratinocytes. Our findings provide a potential new agent for anti-photoaging. The related molecular mechanisms remain to be further elucidated.