Optical surface profiling of orb-web spider capture silks.

Much spider silk research to date has focused on its mechanical properties. However, the webs of many orb-web spiders have evolved for over 136 million years to evade visual detection by insect prey. It is therefore a photonic device in addition to being a mechanical device.

Management of refractory early-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas that manifest primarily in the skin. Mycosis fungoides is recognized as the most common type of CTCL. Patients with early-stage CTCL usually have a benign and chronic disease course.

[Allergic contact dermatitis to common ivy (Hedera helix L.)].

Common ivy (Hedera helix L.) is a ubiquitous plant in Europe whose major allergen falcarinol has moderate allergic potential. It is not related to poison ivy (Toxicodendron spp.

Mycosis-fungoides-type cutaneous T cell lymphoma of the hands and soles: a variant causing delay in diagnosis and adequate treatment of patients with palmoplantar eczema.

Background: The etiopathology of chronic eczematous lesions of the palms and/or soles remains elusive in a considerable proportion of patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that a rare variant of mycosis fungoides (MF)-type cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) restricted to the palms and/or soles may mimic common palmoplantar dermatoses.

Objective: In the present study, we analyzed the clinical and histological characteristics of 3 adult patients with preexisting nonclassified chronic palmoplantar eczema poorly responding to standard therapies.

The transformation of pityriasis lichenoides chronica into parakeratosis variegata in an 11-year-old girl.

Parakeratosis variegata is a rare disorder with unknown aetiology. In a few cases it arises from benign skin diseases such as pityriasis lichenoides et varioliformis acuta (Mucha Habermann disease) or pityriasis lichenoides chronica. However, transformation into malignant diseases such as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has been observed.

Subcutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

We describe a patient with severe fatal histiocytic phagocytic panniculitis caused by a pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma. Analysis by polymerase chain reaction revealed clonality for both the T-cell receptor gamma-chain gene and the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene. We also review 44 reported cases of primary or secondary lymphoma affecting the subcutaneous fat.

Evidence for a paracrine pathway of B-cell stimulation in hairy cell leukaemia.

It is a well-known phenomenon that the growth of malignant B-lymphocytes, i.e. hairy cells, is regulated by cytokines.

[Modern molecular biology diagnosis of malignant cutaneous lymphomas].

The diagnosis of cutaneous malignant lymphoma is based on clinical, histo-morphological and immunochemical findings and, now a days, on molecular biology analyses of the genotype in the lymphocytic infiltrate. By using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers for the Ig heavy chain gene and the T-cell receptor gamma chain gene, the detection of monoclonal cell populations in the skin infiltrate is possible. Since this method produces results within 3 days, since paraffin-embedded skin and lymph node biopsies and heparinized peripheral blood can be used and since no radioactivity is necessary, this technique has important advantages over traditional techniques such as Southern blot analyses.

Systemic treatment for cutaneous lymphomas.

Primary malignant T cell lymphomas of the skin form a heterogenous group. Relevant classifications were recently made to separate different entities by various criteria. This is of great importance, because one should only rely on those therapeutical trials in which patients were included according such classifications.

Use of polymerase chain reaction in the detection of clones in lymphoproliferative diseases of the skin.

Early-stage mycosis fungoides shows similar clinical symptoms and histological and immunophenotypical features to several benign lymphoproliferative skin disorders. We analyzed T cell receptor gamma gene rearrangement by polymerase chain reaction in the search for monoclonal lymphoid subpopulations in skin infiltrates. Totally, 283 skin biopsies (paraffin-embedded and frozen material) from patients with different malignant and reactive skin diseases were investigated.

["Granulomatous slack skin"--cutaneous elastolytic lymphoma].

The term "granulomatous slack skin" (GSS) was introduced by Ackerman for a disease first described by Convit et al. in 1973. GSS represents a rare cutaneous lymphoma characterized by localized elastolytic lesions with a granulomatous infiltrate.

Clonal disease in early cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Our experience with 185 cases of T-cell dominated skin infiltrates demonstrates that the PCR-based method for detection of TCR gamma chain gene rearrangement in combination with temperature gradient electrophoresis can routinely be used for the demonstration of clonal T cells in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded biopsies of lesional skin. In contrast to Southern blot analysis, the amplification by PCR is nonradioactive, is not time consuming (approximately 3 days), can be performed using frozen or paraffin-embedded tissue, and allows additional molecular biologic analyses, such as sequencing. Furthermore, it offers the possibility to design patient-specific primers for monitoring of the disease activity.

Paracrine regulation of B-cell growth in hairy cell leukemia.

There is evidence that the growth of malignant B lymphocytes e.g. hairy cells is regulated by cytokines.