Collision of desmoplastic-neurotropic melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma on the lip.

We report on a case of the collision of a desmoplastic-neurotropic melanoma and a squamous cell carcinoma on the lip. A 46-year-old male developed a multifocal infiltrative squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip, which also showed sparse melanocyte atypia within the epidermis and an extensive spindle cell proliferation within the dermis, subcutaneous tissues and nerves. An immunohistochemical panel showed that the spindle cells were melanocytes, not derived from the squamous cell carcinoma.

Fibroblasts from non-healing human chronic wounds show decreased expression of beta ig-h3, a TGF-beta inducible protein.

Background: Increasing evidence shows persistent phenotypic alterations in fibroblasts from non-healing human chronic wounds, which may result in faulty extracellular matrix deposition and keratinocyte migration. We have previously shown that these cells are characterized by morphological changes, low proliferative potential and unresponsiveness to TGF-beta1, and down regulated phosphorylation of Smad 2/3 and p42/44 MAPK from decreased expression of the TGF-beta type II receptor.

Objective: To identify genes and proteins that may be differentially expressed in chronic wounds and their cultured fibroblasts.

Autologous bone marrow-derived cultured mesenchymal stem cells delivered in a fibrin spray accelerate healing in murine and human cutaneous wounds.

The nonhematopoietic component of bone marrow includes multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) capable of differentiating into fat, bone, muscle, cartilage, and endothelium. In this report, we describe the cell culture and characterization, delivery system, and successful use of topically applied autologous MSC to accelerate the healing of human and experimental murine wounds. A single bone marrow aspirate of 35-50 mL was obtained from patients with acute wounds (n = 5) from skin cancer surgery and from patients with chronic, long-standing, nonhealing lower extremity wounds (n = 8).

Migration of the epidermal over the dermal component (epiboly) in a bilayered bioengineered skin construct.

A bilayered bioengineered living skin construct (LSC) consisting of viable human neonatal keratinocytes over a collagenous dermis seeded with dermal fibroblasts has been used extensively in difficult-to heal human wounds. Its biological properties include production of several mediators, cytokines, and growth factors and the ability to heal itself upon injury. In this study, we investigated the process of keratinocyte migration in LSC.

Human beta-defensin-2 expression is increased in chronic wounds.

First identified in psoriatic epidermis and subsequently in other inflammatory cutaneous lesions, human beta-defensin-2 (hbetaD-2) is one of two endogenous antimicrobial peptides related to defensins in plants and animals. Our objective was to determine the expression of hbetaD-2 after injury and in chronic wounds. Biopsies of normal ipsilateral thigh skin and wound edges were taken from nine consecutive patients with venous leg ulcers (day 1) and from the same biopsy sites 2 days later (day 3).