Direct-acting antiviral-associated dermatitis during chronic hepatitis C virus treatment.

Telaprevir and boceprevir are novel protease inhibitors recently approved for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and have gained widespread use. Skin rash has been reported frequently in patients treated with telaprevir, but less commonly with boceprevir. Despite a high incidence in clinical trials, the telaprevir-related eruption has not been fully described in the literature.

Cutaneous inoculation of nontuberculous mycobacteria during professional tattooing: a case series and epidemiologic study.

Background:  The increase in popularity of tattoos has coincided with an increase in reports of cutaneous inoculation of nontuberculous (atypical) mycobacteria (NTM) during the tattooing process. We report 3 NTM infections in otherwise healthy persons who received tattoos, which prompted a multiagency epidemiologic investigation.

Methods:  Tattoo artists involved were contacted and interviewed regarding practices, ink procurement and use, and other symptomatic clients.

Actin microfilament aggregation induced by withaferin A is mediated by annexin II.

The actin cytoskeleton supports diverse cellular processes such as endocytosis, oriented growth, adhesion and migration. The dynamic nature of the cytoskeleton, however, has made it difficult to define the roles of the many accessory molecules that modulate actin organization, especially the multifunctional adapter protein annexin II. We now report that the compound withaferin A (1) can alter cytoskeletal architecture in a previously unknown manner by covalently binding annexin II and stimulating its basal F-actin cross-linking activity.