Recurrence of Pemphigus Vulgaris after Bilateral Breast Irradiation: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Pemphigus is a serious and rare chronic bullous autoimmune disease. It is characterized by mucocutaneous erosions secondary to autoantibodies directed against desmogleins 1 and 3, proteins involved in intercellular adhesion mechanisms. The occurrence of pemphigus is based on the triggering of genetic and external environmental factors such as drugs, infection, and more rarely radiotherapy.

Stromal reaction in cutaneous melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma is a highly malignant tumor type which is characterized by its tendency to give rise to metastases. Stromal relationships are essential for growth and metastasis of solid tumors. In cutaneous melanoma, microscopic level of invasion (Breslow index), overall architecture of cells (horizontal or vertical growth phase), angiogenesis, vessel invasion are morphological features which may carry prognostic significance.

Elastin-derived peptides upregulate matrix metalloproteinase-2-mediated melanoma cell invasion through elastin-binding protein.

Type I collagen mediates melanoma cells invasion through upregulation of matrix metalloproteinases-1 and -2 (MMP-1 and -2) expression and activation. We investigated here the contribution of elastin-derived peptides (ED), degradation products of elastin, the main component of elastic fibers in melanoma cells invasion and MMP-1 and -2 expression. Our results evidenced fragmentation of elastin at the invasive front of melanoma, particularly in the most invasive tumors where those fibers nearly totally vanished.

The metalloprotease-directed shedding of BP 180 (collagen XVII) from human keratinocytes in culture is unaffected by ceramide and cell-matrix interaction.

The constitutive shedding of BP180 (collagen XVII) from human keratinocytes in culture was totally prevented by batimastat (5 microM), a wide spectrum matrix metalloprotease (MMP) inhibitor. However, keratinocytes did not express active MMP and generation of active Gelatinase A (MMP-2) and Gelatinase B (MMP-9) at the cell plasma membrane by increasing the ceramide content of keratinocytes did not influence BP180 processing to a 120 kDa species. A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) is probably involved in such a shedding event since release of 120 kDa polypeptide was inhibited by Decanoyl-Arg-Val-Lys-Arg CH2Cl (30 microM), a specific furin convertase inhibitor; culturing cells on to several matrix substrata i.