Increased glucocorticoid activation during mouse skin wound healing.

Glucocorticoid (GC) excess inhibits wound healing causing increased patient discomfort and infection risk. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) activates GCs (converting 11-dehydrocorticosterone to corticosterone in rodents) in many tissues including skin, where de novo steroidogenesis from cholesterol has also been reported. To examine the regulation of 11β-HSD1 and steroidogenic enzyme expression during wound healing, 5 mm wounds were generated in female SKH1 mice and compared at days 0, 2, 4, 8, 14, and 21 relative to unwounded skin.

Comparison of publication trends in dermatology among Japan, South Korea and Mainland China.

Background: We previously showed that the number of publications in dermatology is increasing year by year, and positively correlates with improved economic conditions in mainland China, a still developing Asian country. However, the characteristics of publications in dermatology departments in more developed Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea are unknown.

Methods: In the present study, publications from 2003 through 2012 in dermatology in Japan, South Korea and mainland China were characterized.

Role of cholesterol sulfate in epidermal structure and function: lessons from X-linked ichthyosis.

X-linked ichthyosis is a relatively common syndromic form of ichthyosis most often due to deletions in the gene encoding the microsomal enzyme, steroid sulfatase, located on the short area of the X chromosome. Syndromic features are mild or unapparent unless contiguous genes are affected. In normal epidermis, cholesterol sulfate is generated by cholesterol sulfotransferase (SULT2B1b), but desulfated in the outer epidermis, together forming a 'cholesterol sulfate cycle' that potently regulates epidermal differentiation, barrier function and desquamation.

Role of lipids in the formation and maintenance of the cutaneous permeability barrier.

The major function of the skin is to form a barrier between the internal milieu and the hostile external environment. A permeability barrier that prevents the loss of water and electrolytes is essential for life on land. The permeability barrier is mediated primarily by lipid enriched lamellar membranes that are localized to the extracellular spaces of the stratum corneum.

Skin-cleansing and care principles for special pediatric populations.

Good skin care has two overall goals: to support and maintain healthy stratum corneum function and to help restore barrier function perturbed by disease processes or injuries. In this article, we discuss the special attention that is required in the initial skin care of newborns, and we address what measures, beyond the basic skin care principles, are required for patients with conditions such as atopic dermatitis, acne, contact and allergic dermatitis, and diaper rash.

A lifetime of well skin care: practical recommendations for clinicians and patients.

The skin is an indicator of overall health throughout life, and the skin's lifelong care and environment are reflected with aging. The goal of skin care education by clinicians is to teach and reinforce habits that will support and maintain optimum stratum corneum barrier function throughout life and, when dermatologic conditions or injuries arise, that will aid in recovery of barrier function.

The chemistry of skin cleansers: an overview for clinicians.

Cleansers and other skin care products can be agents either of stratum corneum damage and skin barrier dysfunction or of maintaining or restoring healthy stratum corneum barrier structure and function. To guide patients toward beneficial choices most suitable for their individual skin conditions and needs, clinicians must be aware of and understand the ingredients in such skin care products and their potential effects on the stratum corneum barrier. In cleansers specifically, clinicians should be aware particularly of the benefits and potential problems associated with chemical components of surfactants, preservatives, and fragrances.

Update on the structure and function of the skin barrier: atopic dermatitis as an exemplar of clinical implications.

The healthy stratum corneum allows optimum permeability of water and provides the first line of defense against pathogenic and environmental assaults. The barrier functions of the stratum corneum are interrelated, coregulated, and interdependent. Research has demonstrated that three lipid species, which usually comprise 10% of the stratum corneum, are crucial to both its structure and its function; these must be present in sufficient quantities and in the correct proportions to provide optimum barrier function.

Understanding skin barrier differences: a demographic, cultural, and medical diversity viewpoint.

Important differences exist in the physiology of the stratum corneum barrier according to demographic, cultural, and medical factors. Understanding these differences is crucial to choosing strategies for optimum clinical management.

Lipid abnormalities and lipid-based repair strategies in atopic dermatitis.

Prior studies have revealed the key roles played by Th1/Th2 cell dysregulation, IgE production, mast cell hyperactivity, and dendritic cell signaling in the evolution of the chronic, pruritic, inflammatory dermatosis that characterizes atopic dermatitis (AD). We review here increasing evidence that the inflammation in AD results primarily from inherited abnormalities in epidermal structural and enzymatic proteins that impact permeability barrier function. We also will show that the barrier defect can be attributed to a paracellular abnormality due to a variety of abnormalities in lipid composition, transport and extracellular organization.

A systematic review of biochar research, with a focus on its stability in situ and its promise as a climate mitigation strategy.

Background: Claims about the environmental benefits of charring biomass and applying the resulting "biochar" to soil are impressive. If true, they could influence land management worldwide. Alleged benefits include increased crop yields, soil fertility, and water-holding capacity; the most widely discussed idea is that applying biochar to soil will mitigate climate change.

Formation and functions of the corneocyte lipid envelope (CLE).

Corneocytes in mammalian stratum corneum are surrounded by a monolayer of covalently bound ω-OH-ceramides that form the corneocyte (-bound) lipid envelope (CLE). We review here the structure, composition, and possible functions of this structure, with insights provided by inherited and acquired disorders of lipid metabolism. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled The Important Role of Lipids in the Epidermis and their Role in the Formation and Maintenance of the Cutaneous Barrier.

Altered sphingoid base profiles predict compromised membrane structure and permeability in atopic dermatitis.

Background: Ceramide hydrolysis by ceramidase in the stratum corneum (SC) yields both sphingoid bases and free fatty acids (FFA). While FFA are key constituents of the lamellar bilayers that mediate the epidermal permeability barrier, whether sphingoid bases influence permeability barrier homeostasis remains unknown. Pertinently, alterations of lipid profile, including ceramide and ceramidase activities occur in atopic dermatitis (AD).

Prevalence of dyslipidemia in children with congenital heart disease.

Dyslipidemia is one of the main risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases. Few data on the impacts of congenital heart diseases are available with regard to the prevalence of dyslipidemia in children. Our study evaluated the lipid profile in children with congenital heart disease at a referral center.

A conserved N-terminal motif is required for complex formation between FUS, EWSR1, TAF15 and their oncogenic fusion proteins.

The three FET (FUS, EWSR1, and TAF15) family RNA binding proteins are expressed in all tissues and almost all cell types. The disordered N-terminal parts are always present in FET fusion oncoproteins of sarcomas and leukemia. Mutations in FUS and TAF15 cause aggregation of FET proteins in neurological disorders.

Ten-year publication trends in dermatology in mainland China.

Background: China has been experiencing huge changes in all aspects, including dermatologic research, since its reform in 1978. However, it is not known how the economic and intellectual development has influenced the publication trends in the field of dermatology, which could mirror the scientific development in other medical disciplines. In the present study, we analyzed publication trends from dermatology departments in mainland China from 2002 to 2011.

Local blockade of glucocorticoid activation reverses stress- and glucocorticoid-induced delays in cutaneous wound healing.

Stress slows cutaneous wound healing (WH) in an endogenous glucocorticoid (GC)-dependent fashion. We investigated whether stress/GC-induced delays in WH require further intracutaneous activation of endogenous GC; and whether blockade or down-regulation of peripheral activation normalizes WH in the face of stress. Delayed WH in our motion-restricted murine model of stress could be attributed to elevated systemic GC, because blockade of GC production (using corticotropin-releasing factor inhibitor, antalarmin), or of peripheral binding to the GC receptor [GCr], with an antagonist, Ru-486, normalized WH.

Resveratrol stimulates sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling of cathelicidin production.

We recently discovered a regulatory mechanism that stimulates the production of the multifunctional antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP). In response to subtoxic levels of ER stress, increased sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) production activates an NFκBC/EBPα-dependent pathway that enhances CAMP production in cultured human keratinocytes. As the multifunctional stilbenoid compound resveratrol (RESV) increases ceramide (Cer) levels, a precursor of S1P, we hypothesized and assessed whether RESV could exploit the same pathway to regulate CAMP production.

Selective matrix (hyaluronan) interaction with CD44 and RhoGTPase signaling promotes keratinocyte functions and overcomes age-related epidermal dysfunction.

Background: Mouse epidermal chronologic aging is closely associated with aberrant matrix (hyaluronan, HA)-size distribution/production and impaired keratinocyte proliferation/differentiation, leading to a marked thinning of the epidermis with functional consequence that causes a slower recovery of permeability barrier function.

Objective: The goal of this study is to demonstrate mechanism-based, corrective therapeutic strategies using topical applications of small HA (HAS) and/or large HA (HAL) [or a sequential small HA (HAS) and large HA(HAL) (HAs→HAL) treatment] as well as RhoGTPase signaling perturbation agents to regulate HA/CD44-mediated signaling, thereby restoring normal epidermal function, and permeability barrier homeostasis in aged mouse skin.

Methods: A number of biochemical, cell biological/molecular, pharmacological and physiological approaches were used to investigate matrix HA-CD44-mediated RhoGTPase signaling in regulating epidermal functions and skin aging.

A rational, non-radioactive strategy for the molecular diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

Context: Molecular diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) has not been straightforward.

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive genetic analysis by Multiplex Ligation dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) and evaluate its reliability for the molecular CAH-21OHD diagnosis.

Patients And Methods: We studied 99 patients from 90 families with salt-wasting (SW; n=32), simple-virilizing (SV; n=29), and non-classical (NC; n=29) CAH-21OHD.