Involvement of hypoxia-inducible factor activity in inevitable air-exposure treatment upon differentiation in a three-dimensional keratinocyte culture.

Formation of the human skin epidermis can be reproduced by a three-dimensional (3D) keratinocyte culture system, in which air-exposure is inevitable upon initiation of differentiation. In the continuous submerged culture without air-exposure, even with a differentiation-compatible medium, several keratinocyte-specific proteins were not induced resulting in the formation of aberrant epidermal layers. To clarify the mechanism by which air-exposure promotes keratinocyte differentiation, we performed a comparative analysis on biological properties between submerged and air-liquid interphase culture systems.

Immediate response to apremilast in patients with palmoplantar pustulosis: a retrospective pilot study.

Background: Recent case reports have shown the efficacy of apremilast for the treatment of palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP). However, no study has statistically analyzed the clinical efficacy of oral apremilast in patients with PPP.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of apremilast, a phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, for PPP.

A case of drug-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome-like eruption predominating in mucosa: A case report.

Atypical Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a variant of SJS with complete absence of or only few cutaneous manifestations. It usually affects children with Mycoplasma-induced respiratory infection. It was unique because our case was induced by drug and occurred in an adult.

Painless thyroiditis in a dupilumab-treated patient.

Summary: Dupilumab an inhibitor of the interleukin (IL)-4R-alpha subunit is used for the treatment of allergic diseases. The patient was a 49-year-old man who received dupilumab for the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis. He presented hyperthyroidism with elevated thyroglobulin and anti-thyroid antibody negativity at 4 months after the initiation of therapy.

Annular Sarcoidosis with Geographic Appearance in a Patient with Systemic Sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown origin, with variable clinical manifestations and various types of cutaneous manifestations (1). Plaque sarcoidosis that presents as an annular pattern is called annular sarcoidosis. Here, we report an unusual case of annular sarcoidosis with a geographic pattern containing () acnes ().

Reduced stratum corneum acylceramides in autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis with a NIPAL4 mutation.

Background: NIPAL4, encoding the NIPA-like domain containing 4 protein (NIPAL4), is one of the causative genes of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI). The physiological role of NIPAL4 and the pathogenetic mechanisms of ARCI caused by NIPAL4 mutations remain unclear.

Objective: To clarify the changes of ceramide components in the lesional stratum corneum (SC) and the gene expression profile in the lesional skin of an ARCI patient with a novel frameshift mutation in NIPAL4.

SDR9C7 catalyzes critical dehydrogenation of acylceramides for skin barrier formation.

The corneocyte lipid envelope, composed of covalently bound ceramides and fatty acids, is important to the integrity of the permeability barrier in the stratum corneum, and its absence is a prime structural defect in various skin diseases associated with defective skin barrier function. SDR9C7 encodes a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family 9C member 7 (SDR9C7) recently found mutated in ichthyosis. In a patient with SDR9C7 mutation and a mouse Sdr9c7-KO model, we show loss of covalent binding of epidermal ceramides to protein, a structural fault in the barrier.

Studies on differentiation-dependent expression and activity of distinct transglutaminases by specific substrate peptides using three-dimensional reconstituted epidermis.

During skin formation, particularly during differentiation of keratinocytes, unique post-translational modifications play a role in forming a proteinaceous supermolecule called the cornified envelope (CE), which is necessary for barrier function. Transglutaminases (TGs) are essential enzymes involved in the cross-linking of various keratinocyte structural proteins to complete CE formation. The TG family consists of eight isozymes, with two members, TG1 and TG3, located mainly in the epidermis.

Indeterminate dendritic cell neoplasm accompanied by eosinophilic pneumonia successfully treated by systemic steroid therapy: Report of the first case with muscular and parotid involvement and review of published work.

A 34-year-old Japanese man presented with an indolent nodule on the right flank. Computed tomography of the chest and abdomen demonstrated a large nodule measuring 55 mm × 50 mm in the abdominal oblique muscle layer of the right flank, and several small nodules were seen in the muscle layer throughout the body and subcutaneous tissue of the lower abdomen. F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed nodular lesions in the bilateral parotid glands, bilateral cervical lymph nodes and lower lobe of the right lung.