Aging-related changes in the diversity of women's skin microbiomes associated with oral bacteria.

Skin aging is associated with changes in cutaneous physiology including interactions with a skin microbial community. A striking alteration and diversification in the skin microbiome with aging was observed between two different age groups of 37 healthy Japanese women, i.e.

Phase II study of ipilimumab monotherapy in Japanese patients with advanced melanoma.

Purpose: Ipilimumab is designed to block cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 to augment antitumor T cell responses. In studies of predominantly Caucasian patients with advanced melanoma, ipilimumab was associated with durable response, long-term survival benefit, and a manageable safety profile. This phase II study assessed the safety of ipilimumab in Japanese patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma.

Phase II study of the immune-checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab plus dacarbazine in Japanese patients with previously untreated, unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Purpose: Ipilimumab (IPI), a monoclonal antibody against immune-checkpoint receptor cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4, is designed to enhance antitumor T cell function. IPI 10 mg/kg plus dacarbazine (DTIC) significantly improved overall survival in a phase 3 study involving predominantly Caucasian patients, with an adverse event (AE) profile similar to that of IPI monotherapy. We conducted a single-arm, phase 2 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IPI plus DTIC in Japanese patients.

Identification of the cause of severe skin infection by Fournier transform infrared spectroscopy: a case of Fournier's gangrene caused by fish bone.

Fournier's gangrene (FG) is an infrequent but highly lethal infection. Here we report a 74-year-old man who presented with genital swelling and severe malaise. Based on the physical and imaging examination results, the diagnosis of FG was confirmed.

Case of primary cutaneous peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, with characteristics of follicular helper T cells.

We report a case of an 88-year-old woman with a decalvant, erythematous, ulcerated tumor extending from the right temporal to occipital region. Histopathological analysis revealed a dense infiltration of medium-to-large-sized atypical cells throughout the entire dermis. The result of immunohistochemical analysis showed that the infiltrating T cells expressed programmed death-1 (PD-1), Bcl-6 and CXCL13.

Two cases of autosomal recessive woolly hair with LIPH gene mutations.

Background: Woolly hair is a hereditary disorder characterized by fine and tightly curled hair. Autosomal recessive woolly hair (ARWH) was recently determined to result from mutations in either the lipase H (LIPH) or the LPAR6 (P2RY5) gene.

Case Report: An 8-year-old boy (proband) and his 11-year-old brother presented with tightly coiled and sparse scalp hair.

A case of endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinoma.

Endocrine mucin-producing sweat gland carcinoma (EMPSGC), which is an uncommon sweat gland tumor with a predilection for the eyelids, is morphologically analogous to solid papillary carcinoma of the breast. We report the case of a 55-year-old man with a subcutaneous tumor of the upper cheek. The pathological findings for this patient were compatible with those of reported cases of EMPSGC, and p63 staining revealed partial microinvasion into the dermis.

A Case of Metastatic Extramammary Paget's Disease Responding to Trastuzumab plus Paclitaxel Combination Therapy.

There is no effective treatment for advanced extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD). The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein is often overexpressed in EMPD. Trastuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against HER2 used in the treatment of breast cancers in which HER2 is overexpressed.

The Selaginella genome identifies genetic changes associated with the evolution of vascular plants.

Vascular plants appeared ~410 million years ago, then diverged into several lineages of which only two survive: the euphyllophytes (ferns and seed plants) and the lycophytes. We report here the genome sequence of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii (Selaginella), the first nonseed vascular plant genome reported. By comparing gene content in evolutionarily diverse taxa, we found that the transition from a gametophyte- to a sporophyte-dominated life cycle required far fewer new genes than the transition from a nonseed vascular to a flowering plant, whereas secondary metabolic genes expanded extensively and in parallel in the lycophyte and angiosperm lineages.

Novel immunotherapeutic approaches to skin cancer treatments using protein transduction technology.

Protein-transduction domains (PTDs) are short stretches of cationic amino acids that enable peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, and other reagents to efficiently enter multiple cell types. Therefore, PTDs offer unique therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of many diseases. Previous studies examined the in vivo distribution of PTD-containing fusion proteins following administration via different routes, including portal vein, intravenous, intraperitoneal, and oral administration.

Sequence analysis of the genome of an oil-bearing tree, Jatropha curcas L.

The whole genome of Jatropha curcas was sequenced, using a combination of the conventional Sanger method and new-generation multiplex sequencing methods. Total length of the non-redundant sequences thus obtained was 285 858 490 bp consisting of 120 586 contigs and 29 831 singlets. They accounted for ~95% of the gene-containing regions with the average G + C content was 34.

Adventitious shoot regeneration from juvenile cotyledons of a biodiesel producing Plant, Jatropha curcas L.

An efficient and rapid adventitious shoot regeneration system from young cotyledons of Jatropha curcas L. was developed. After testing several combinations of plant growth regulators, the highest regeneration frequency was obtained for the medium supplemented with 3 mg/l BA and 0.

A novel immunotherapeutic approach to melanoma-bearing hosts with protein-transduction domain-containing immunogenic foreign antigens.

Background: Active immunotherapy is accomplished by two critical factors; (1) induction of strong antigen-specific immune responses, and (2) abundant expression of antigen-epitopes on target cells. Previously, we have shown that the nona-arginine protein-transduction domain (R9-PTD) induced efficient protein-antigen transduction to a variety of cell types in vitro and in vivo. We have also demonstrated that intradermal (i.

Overexpression of GRIM-19 in cancer cells suppresses STAT3-mediated signal transduction and cancer growth.

Constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is common in many human and murine cancer cells, and its activation leads to cellular transformation. STAT3 pathway inhibitors have been reported to suppress cancer growth. To investigate the antitumor effects of inhibiting the STAT3-mediated signaling cascade in the cancer microenvironment, using a molecular-targeting approach, we focused on the gene associated with retinoid-IFN-induced mortality 19 (GRIM-19).