Sensory Qualities Point to Different Structural and Functional Skin Patterns in Chronic Pruritus Patients. A Translational Explorative Study.

Chronic pruritus (CP) is often accompanied by paresthetic sensations like warmth, burning and stinging. The aim of this study was to analyze, whether divergent sensations are linked to structural and functional skin alterations in clinically diagnosed CP patients. Clinical responses to capsaicin, histamine, and to thermal and mechanical stimulation, intraepidermal nerve fiber density, and epidermal expression of transient receptor potential (TRP)-channels were investigated in healthy controls, and in CP patients, reporting either warmth (CP-W) or neuropathic sensations (CP-N).

Isolation, culture optimization and functional characterization of stem cell neurospheres from mouse neonatal olfactory bulb and epithelium.

The olfactory epithelium contains basal cells with stem cell characteristics, which have the capacity to differentiate throughout life into olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). Here we investigate the in vitro characteristics of stem cells taken from the olfactory bulb (OB) and the olfactory epithelium (OE) of neonatal TIS21 knock-in mice. The major aim of the study was the generation of olfactory neurospheres (ONS) derived from OB and OE of neonatal mice as a tool to further analyze the elementary processes of ORN development.

U6atac snRNA stem-loop interacts with U12 p65 RNA binding protein and is functionally interchangeable with the U12 apical stem-loop III.

Formation of catalytic core of the U12-dependent spliceosome involves U6atac and U12 interaction with the 5' splice site and branch site regions of a U12-dependent intron, respectively. Beyond the formation of intermolecular helix I region between U6atac and U12 snRNAs, several other regions within these RNA molecules are predicted to form stem-loop structures. Our previous work demonstrated that the 3' stem-loop region of U6atac snRNA contains a U12-dependent spliceosome-specific targeting activity.

Deep sequencing of the murine olfactory receptor neuron transcriptome.

The ability of animals to sense and differentiate among thousands of odorants relies on a large set of olfactory receptors (OR) and a multitude of accessory proteins within the olfactory epithelium (OE). ORs and related signaling mechanisms have been the subject of intensive studies over the past years, but our knowledge regarding olfactory processing remains limited. The recent development of next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques encouraged us to assess the transcriptome of the murine OE.

Monoterpene (-)-citronellal affects hepatocarcinoma cell signaling via an olfactory receptor.

Terpenes are the major constituents of essential oils in plants. In recent years, terpenes have become of clinical relevance due to their ability to suppress cancer development. Their effect on cellular proliferation has made them promising agents in the prevention or treatment of many types of cancer.

Chemosensory information processing between keratinocytes and trigeminal neurons.

Trigeminal fibers terminate within the facial mucosa and skin and transmit tactile, proprioceptive, chemical, and nociceptive sensations. Trigeminal sensations can arise from the direct stimulation of intraepithelial free nerve endings or indirectly through information transmission from adjacent cells at the peripheral innervation area. For mechanical and thermal cues, communication processes between skin cells and somatosensory neurons have already been suggested.

Cellular infiltrates and NFκB subunit c-Rel signaling in kidney allografts of patients with clinical operational tolerance.

Background: Nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) plays a potential role in tolerance by orchestrating onset and resolution of inflammation and regulatory T cell differentiation through subunit c-Rel. We characterized cellular infiltrates and expression of NFκB1, c-Rel and its upstream regulators phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/RAC-alpha serine/threonine kinase, in allograft biopsies from patients with spontaneous clinical operational tolerance (COT).

Methods: Paraffin-fixed kidney allograft biopsies from 40 patients with COT (n=4), interstitial rejection (IR; n=12), borderline changes (BC; n=12), and long-term allograft function without rejection (NR; n=12) were used in the study.