Expression Profiles of Protease in Onychomycosis-Related Pathogenic Trichophyton rubrum and Tinea Capitis-Related Pathogenic Trichophyton violaceum.

The two fungal species Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton violaceum are common pathogens on human, infecting keratinized tissue of the outer body parts. Both species are belonging to the "Trichophyton rubrum complex" and share very high similarity in the genome. Secreted proteinases, key factors for keratin degradation, are nearly identical.

Genetic diagnosis of a rare COL7A1 variant causing dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa through whole‑exome sequencing.

Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa pruriginosa (DEB-Pr) is a rare subtype of inherited DEB. In the present study, whole-exome sequencing was conducted on 12 individuals from the same affected family and a rare heterozygous variation was identified in the collagen type VII, α1 (COL7A1) gene, namely c.6859G>A (p.

Case report: Mucous membrane pemphigoid with complicated autoantibody profile indicating the necessity of comprehensive diagnostic methods and the contribution of IgA autoantibodies.

Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a type of subepithelial autoimmune bullous disease, affecting various mucosae, occasionally with skin lesions. Both diagnosis and treatment of MMP are difficult. Although multiple autoantigens have been identified for MMP, the pathogenesis of MMP is still unclear.

Case Report: Variety of Target Antigens During 1 Year Follow-Up of a Patient Initially Diagnosed With Bullous Pemphigoid.

Autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs), presenting cutaneous and/or mucosal bullous lesions, are classified into pemphigus and pemphigoid diseases. A longtime observation for complicated AIBD cases is rarely reported. In this study, serum samples of one AIBD patient were collected at seven different time points during the disease course including a relapse, which were examined by our conventional and newly developed methods for the detection of autoantibodies.

Prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Sporothrix species in Jiangxi, central China.

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis caused by traumatic inoculation of pathogenic Sporothrix species. Until recently, Sporothrix globosa was considered as the unique Chinese species causing this disorder. In the present study, 33 clinical Sporothrix strains isolated from Jiangxi, China, were classified and antifungal susceptibility for each strain was determined.

Molecular epidemiology and in vitro antifungal susceptibility of Trichophyton schoenleinii, agent of tinea capitis favosa.

Trichophyton schoenleinii is an anthropophilic dermatophyte usually causing tinea favosa. Only few studies have provided data on molecular epidemiology and antifungal profiles of this fungus due to its limited prevalence after 1950s. Forty-nine strains from Asia (n = 27), Africa (n = 10), Europe (n = 10) and from unknown regions (n = 2) were analysed with amplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting (AFLP) to reveal intraspecific genetic diversity in this dataset.

Progressive silencing of the zinc transporter Zip8 (Slc39a8) in chronic cadmium-exposed lung epithelial cells.

Cadmium (Cd), a non-essential metal, stealthily enters the cells by utilizing the essential metal importing pathways. The zinc transporters Zip8, Zip14, and divalent metal transporter 1 (Dmt1) are now emerging as several important metal transporters involved in cellular Cd incorporation and their expressions have been shown to be down-regulated in several Cd-resistant (CdR) cell lines, however, the involvement of these transporters during the development of Cd-resistance in lung cells is unclear. In this study, we therefore check the expression of these metal transporters in our previously established rat lung epithelial cells (LECs) and show that the level of Zip8 is progressively silenced when LECs are adapted to increasing concentrations of CdCl2 (from 1 to 20 μM).

Aberrant cytokine secretion and zinc uptake in chronic cadmium-exposed lung epithelial cells.

Purpose: Our previous results showed that cadmium (Cd)-adapted lung epithelial cells (LECs) developed resistance to apoptosis due to non-responsiveness of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway and augmented expression of cytokeratin 8. Since cellular Cd entry is a prerequisite in order for Cd to elicit its cytotoxicity, therefore, we wonder if there are differential metal ion transport ability and also other phenotypic changes that occurred in these Cd-resistant LECs.

Experimental Design And Results: Here, we explored further and found that the zinc (Zn) importer Zip8 was stably abolished in these cells along with a marked decrease of Cd and Zn accumulation.