Non-response to Interleukin-1 Antagonist Canakinumab in Two Patients with Refractory Pyoderma Gangrenosum and Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Pyoderma gangrenosum and hidradenitis suppurativa are skin conditions characterized by an intense neutrophil-mediated inflammatory response that is often difficult to effectively treat. Successful use of interleukin (IL)-1β inhibition using canakinumab and anakinra has been reported in patients with concomitant pyoderma gangrenosum and hidradenitis suppurativa. We report two cases where targeted therapy with canakinumab failed to lead to improvement for patients with pyoderma gangrenosum and hidradenitis suppurativa.

Dermatology hospital fellowships: present and future.

The question of what makes a successful dermatology hospitalist has risen to the forefront due to the rapidly increasing number of these providers. Inpatient dermatology fellowships have formed as a direct consequence. Though mostly in their infancy, these programs have primary or secondary goals to train providers in the dermatologic care of the hospitalized patient.

Updates in adult-onset Still disease: Atypical cutaneous manifestations and associations with delayed malignancy.

Adult-onset Still disease (AOSD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder that is clinically characterized by a heterogeneous constellation of symptoms and signs. Though an evanescent eruption is the classic cutaneous finding, recent literature has highlighted atypical rashes associated with Still disease. A second emerging concept in presentations of AOSD is its association with malignancy.

S-nitrosothiol transport via PEPT2 mediates biological effects of nitric oxide gas exposure in macrophages.

The pharmacological effects of nitric oxide (NO) administered as a gas are dependent on the conversion to S-nitrosocysteine, and as such are largely mediated by the L-type amino-acid transporters (LATs) in several cell types. The dipeptide transporter PEPT2 has been proposed as a second route for S-nitrosothiol (SNO) transport, but this has never been demonstrated. Because NO governs important immune functions in alveolar macrophages, we exposed rat alveolar macrophages (primary and NR8383 cells) to NO gas at the air-liquid interface ± LPS stimulation in the presence of PEPT2 substrate Cys-Gly (or the LAT substrate L-Cys) ± transporter competitors.