Constrictive pericarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in a patient with systemic sclerosis.

Unlabelled: A 59-year-old man with systemic sclerosis and interstitial pneumonia was referred to our department because he developed dyspnea and leg edema after receiving a first shot of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Transthoracic echocardiography showed moderate pericardial effusion with conspicuous fibrin deposition. Prednisolone was increased from 6 mg/day for systemic sclerosis to 20 mg/day.

Upregulation of ANGPTL6 in mouse keratinocytes enhances susceptibility to psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease marked by aberrant tissue repair. Mutant mice modeling psoriasis skin characteristics have provided useful information relevant to molecular mechanisms and could serve to evaluate therapeutic strategies. Here, we found that epidermal ANGPTL6 expression was markedly induced during tissue repair in mice.

Altered expression of CD63 and exosomes in scleroderma dermal fibroblasts.

Background: Exosomes are small vesicles shed from various cells. They contain proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, and are regarded as a tool of cell-cell communication.

Objectives: To reveal the putative role of exosomes in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to elucidate the effect of exosomes on wound healing.

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 accelerates carcinogenesis by activating chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Unlabelled: Chronic inflammation has received much attention as a risk factor for carcinogenesis. We recently reported that Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (Angptl2) facilitates inflammatory carcinogenesis and metastasis in a chemically induced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin mouse model. In particular, we demonstrated that Angptl2-induced inflammation enhanced susceptibility of skin tissues to "preneoplastic change" and "malignant conversion" in SCC development; however, mechanisms underlying this activity remain unclear.

The role of angiopoietin-like protein 2 in pathogenesis of dermatomyositis.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an autoimmune disease marked by chronic inflammation of skin and muscle tissues and characterized clinically by proximal muscle weakness and skin eruption, including heliotrope rash, and Gottron's sign. Treatment with a non-specific immunosuppressive agent or anti-inflammatory corticosteroids is beneficial, although some patients are resistant to these therapies. Proinflammatory cytokines derived from infiltrating inflammatory cells and activated resident cells within skin and muscle tissues likely promote chronic inflammation in DM pathogenesis; however, molecular mechanisms underlying the disease are not completely defined.

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 is an important facilitator of inflammatory carcinogenesis and metastasis.

Chronic inflammation plays important roles at different stages of cancer development, including carcinogenesis, tumor invasion, and metastasis, but molecular mechanisms linking inflammation to cancer development have not been fully clarified. Here, we report that expression of angiopoietin-like protein 2 (Angptl2), recently identified as a chronic inflammation mediator, is highly correlated with the frequency of carcinogenesis in a chemically induced skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) mouse model. Furthermore, Angptl2 expression in SCC is highly correlated with the frequency of tumor cell metastasis to distant secondary organs and lymph nodes.