Preparation and evaluation of a highly skin- and nail-permeable efinaconazole topical formulation for enhanced treatment of onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis is a progressive fungal infection of the nails that involves the deeper nail layer and nail bed. It is important to maintain sufficient drug concentration in the diseased tissues after topical application. In this study, a stable topical delivery system for efinaconazole (EFN) was designed to enhance absorption potential through the skin and nail plate by incorporating ethanol, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (Transcutol P) and isopropyl myristate, and cyclomethicone into the topical solution as a delivery vehicle, permeation enhancers, and a wetting agent, respectively.

Improvement in skin wrinkles using a preparation containing human growth factors and hyaluronic acid serum.

Background: Skin aging is accompanied by wrinkle formation. At some sites, such as the periorbital skin, this is a relatively early phenomenon.

Objective: We evaluated the anti-wrinkle effect of a preparation containing human growth factor and hyaluronic acid serum on periorbital wrinkles (crow's feet).

Reduction in facial hyperpigmentation after treatment with a combination of topical niacinamide and tranexamic acid: a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial.

Background: Facial hyperpigmentation occurs in multiple conditions. In addition, many Asian women desire a lighter skin color. Thus, there is a need for the development of skin lightening agents, and niacinamide and tranexamic acid (TXA) are promising candidates.

Functional inactivation of triosephosphate isomerase through phosphorylation during etoposide-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells: potential role of Cdk2.

Up-regulation of cyclin-dependent protein kinase 2 (Cdk2) activity has been suggested to be prerequisite for progression of apoptosis induced by various apoptotic stimuli. In this study, we applied a phospho-proteomic technique to screen target molecules of Cdk2 during etoposide-induced apoptosis. For this purpose, phosphoproteins from the cell lysates were enriched by using Fe³+-IMAC column chromatography and resolved on a high resolution 2D PAGE gel.

Cyclin-dependent protein kinase 2 activity is required for mitochondrial translocation of Bax and disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential during etoposide-induced apoptosis.

Previous studies have suggested that upregulation of Cyclin A-dependent protein kinase 2 (Cdk2) activity is an essential event in apoptotic progression and the mitochondrial permeability transition in human cancer cells. Here, we show that upregulated Cyclin A/Cdk2 activity precedes the proteolytic cleavage of PARP and is correlated with the mitochondrial translocation of Bax and the loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Deltapsim) during etoposide-induced apoptosis in human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells. Etoposide-induced apoptotic cell death is efficiently prevented in cells that overexpress a dominant negative mutant of Cdk2 (Cdk2-dn) or p21(WAF1/CIP1), a specific Cdk inhibitor.