Functionally distinct cancer-associated fibroblast subpopulations establish a tumor promoting environment in squamous cell carcinoma.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a serious public health problem due to its high incidence and metastatic potential. It may progress from actinic keratosis (AK), a precancerous lesion, or the in situ carcinoma, Bowen's disease (BD). During this progression, malignant keratinocytes activate dermal fibroblasts into tumor promoting cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), whose origin and emergence remain largely unknown.

[Dermato-neuro syndrome-an acute and life-threatening complication of scleromyxedema Arndt-Gottron].

Scleromyxedema Arndt-Gottron is the systemic variant of lichen myxedematosus in which mucin accumulation occurs in the dermis. The disease is usually chronically progressive and extracutaneous manifestations or complications are possible. The pathogenesis is unknown and the disease is usually associated with monoclonal gammopathy.

Partitioning and subsampling statistics in compartment-based quantification methods.

The precision of compartment-based quantification methods is subject to multiple effects, of which partitioning and subsampling play a major role. Partitioning is the process of aliquoting the sample liquid and consequently the contained target molecules, whereas subsampling denotes the fact that usually only a portion of a sample is analyzed. In this work, we present a detailed statistical description comprising the effects of partitioning and subsampling on the relative uncertainty of the test result.

T Regulatory Cell-Associated Tolerance Induction by High-Dose Immunoglobulins in an HLA-Transgenic Mouse Model of Pemphigus.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a potentially lethal autoimmune bullous skin disorder caused by IgG autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3) and Dsg1. During the last three decades, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIgs) have been applied as an effective and relatively safe treatment regime in severe, therapy-refractory PV. This prompted us to study T- and B- cell polarization by IVIg in a human-Dsg3-dependent mouse model for PV.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma: brief review and report of successful treatment with mycophenolate mofetil.

Subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma is a rare, indolent cutaneous cytotoxic alpha-beta T-cell lymphoma, where no specific therapy regimen is defined. We present a case with a diagnostically challenging association with anti-double stranded DNA and provides one of the first reports of a successful treatment with mycophenolate mofetil and glucocorticosteroids.

Evaluation of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index Thresholds as Proxies for Systemic Inflammation on an Individual Patient Level.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disease with a loss of up to 5 life years, which is thought to be reduced by biologic treatment. Disease severity and eligibility for systemic treatment are often based on the cutaneous psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) with a cut-off of 10 in several European countries. However, it is unclear how well this cut-off reflects systemic inflammation and, consequently, the risk for the development of comorbidity.

Fusing MEMS technology with lab-on-chip: nanoliter-scale silicon microcavity arrays for digital DNA quantification and multiplex testing.

We report on the development of a microfluidic multiplexing technology for highly parallelized sample analysis via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in an array of 96 nanoliter-scale microcavities made from silicon. This PCR array technology features fully automatable aliquoting microfluidics, a robust sample compartmentalization up to temperatures of 95 °C, and an application-specific prestorage of reagents within the 25 nl microcavities. The here presented hybrid silicon-polymer microfluidic chip allows both a rapid thermal cycling of the liquid compartments and a real-time fluorescence read-out for a tracking of the individual amplification reactions taking place inside the microcavities.

Real-Time Detection of Tumor Cells during Capture on a Filter Element Significantly Enhancing Detection Rate.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that enter the bloodstream play an important role in the formation of metastases. The prognostic significance of CTCs as biomarkers obtained from liquid biopsies is intensively investigated and requires accurate methods for quantification. The purpose of this study was the capture of CTCs on an optically accessible surface for real-time quantification.

[Cutaneous pseudolymphoma after hirudotherapy : Case report and review].

The term cutaneous pseudolymphoma (C-PSL) is defined in the literature as a benign, reactive lymphoproliferation that clinically and/or histopathologically imitates cutaneous lymphoma. The exact etiopathogenesis has not been fully elucidated to date. A distinction is made between primary, idiopathic PSL without an identifiable cause and secondary PSL with a known stimulus.