[Spatiotemporal dynamics of forest cover and its response to climate change in Shandong Province, China during 2000-2022.].

Accurately capturing the spatiotemporal dynamics of regional forest cover and its response to climate change is of great significance for forest resource management and ecological environment protection. We used statistical methods such us linear regression and correlation analysis, as well as remote sensing change monitoring to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of forest cover and its response to climate change from 2000 to 2022 in Shandong Province based on MODIS VCF products and meteorological data. The results showed that the forest co-verage and forest area in Shandong Province increased from 43.

Fine-scale monitoring of catkins reveals an association between catkin concentration and plant community characteristics and microclimate.

Catkins, as a significant source of plant-caused pollution, disrupts daily human activities and industrial processes. Despite their impact, catkins have not been included in official environmental quality monitoring indicators, leading to a deficiency in scientifically rigorous collection and monitoring methodologies, as well as a lack of ecological prevention and management strategies. In this study, we introduced a fine-scale monitoring approach for catkins.

Granulomatous mastitis in a 50-year-old male: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Granulomatous mastitis (GM) an inflammatory disease of the breast that usually affects women of childbearing age, occurs very rarely in males.

Case Summary: We present a case study of a 50-year-old male patient with GM. The patient developed a breast lump following the cleaning of a previously embedded dirt-filled nipple.

Assessing urban park equity in Chaoyang District, Beijing using online review data.

Urban parks are essential components of urban ecosystems, providing vital ecological resources for city residents. However, the rapid expansion of high-density urban areas has led to an unequal distribution of park resources, raising growing concerns about spatial equity. To address these challenges, we employed an improved Gaussian two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, considering park quality variations and integrating sentiment scores from park reviews to calculate a comprehensive park accessibility index, accounting for both supply and demand dynamics among park users.

Impact of ecological conservation policies on land use and carbon stock in megacities at different stages of development.

Urban expansion, especially the construction of megacities, increases carbon emissions and adversely affects the carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems. However, scientific land-use management policies can increase carbon storage. This study takes two megacities at different stages of development, Beijing and Tianjin, as examples to explore the impact of different ecological conservation scenarios on both urban land use and carbon storage to provide recommendations for the construction planning of large cities with low-carbon development as the goal.

Clinicopathologic Features and Pathogens of Granulomatous Lobular Mastitis.

Background: Granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM) is a rare, benign, and complex breast disease that can be easily misdiagnosed as breast cancer. The etiology of GLM is unclear, and optimal treatment has not been established.

Methods: Medical records for 333 patients with GLM in recent 5 years at Longhua Hospital, Shanghai, China, were analyzed.

M-CSF-stimulated myeloid cells can convert into epithelial cells to participate in re-epithelialization and hair follicle regeneration during dermal wound healing.

Dermal wound healing is a complex process which requires the interaction of many cell types and mediators in a highly sophisticated temporal sequence. Myeloid cells which compose of a significant proportion of the inflammatory cells infiltrate to the to a wound site where they play important roles in clearance of damaged tissue and microorganisms. Myeloid cells have the capacity to be converted into fibroblast-like cells and endothelial cells during wound healing process.

Myeloid Adherent Cells Are Involved in Hair Loss in the Alopecia Areata Mouse Model.

Alopecia areata (AA), which is defined as an autoimmune hair loss disease, has a serious impact on the quality of life for patients with AA worldwide. In this study, to our knowledge, a previously unreported method of AA induction in C3H mice has been established and validated. Using this method, we showed that dermal injection of 1-3 million of a mixture of skin cells freshly isolated from AA-affected skin induces AA in more than 80% of healthy mice.

Split Thickness Grafts Grow From Bottom Up in Large Skin Injuries.

Autologous split thickness skin graft is necessary for the survival of patients with large burns and skin defects. It is not clear how a thin split thickness skin graft becomes remarkably thicker within a few weeks following transplantation. Here, we hypothesized that growth of split thickness graft should be from bottom up probably through conversion of immune cells into collagen producing skin cells.

Fibroblast cell-based therapy prevents induction of alopecia areata in an experimental model.

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune hair loss disease with infiltration of proinflammatory cells into hair follicles. Current therapeutic regimens are unsatisfactory mainly because of the potential for side effects and/or limited efficacy. Here we report that cultured, transduced fibroblasts, which express the immunomodulatory molecule indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), can be applied to prevent hair loss in an experimental AA model.

Increased expression of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in dermal fibroblasts from alopecia areata mice.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune disorder affecting millions of people worldwide, which manifests as a sudden, non-scarring hair loss. The expression of a pro-inflammatory cytokine, interferon-gamma (INF-γ), has been well established to be involved in the development of AA. As IFN-γ and other cytokines are also known to up-regulate programmed cell death ligand 1 and 2 (PD-L1 and PD-L2), which both negatively control immune responses, we asked whether or not a high number of infiltrated T cells, seen in AA lesions, can modulate the expression of PD-L1 and PD-L2 in skin cells.

Accelerating skin wound healing by M-CSF through generating SSEA-1 and -3 stem cells in the injured sites.

Wound healing is a complicated process requiring the collaborative efforts of different cell lineages. Our recent studies have found that one subset of hematopoietic cells can be induced to dedifferentiate into multipotent stem cells by means of a proliferating fibroblast releasable factor, M-CSF. Understanding the importance of stem cells on skin wound healing, here we evaluate the biological significance of M-CSF on skin wound healing.

Keratinocyte-Releasable Factors Stimulate the Expression of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor in Human Dermal Fibroblasts.

Interaction between keratinocytes and fibroblasts plays a critical role in maintaining skin integrity under both normal and pathological conditions. We have previously demonstrated that keratinocyte-releasable factors influence the expression of key extracellular matrix components, such as collagen and matrix metalloproteinases in dermal fibroblasts. In this study, we utilized DNA microarray analysis to examine the effects of keratinocyte-releasable factors on the expression of several cytokines in human dermal fibroblasts.

Fibroblast Cell-Based Therapy for Experimental Autoimmune Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from autoimmune destruction of insulin producing β cells of the pancreatic islets. Curbing autoimmunity at the initiation of T1D can result in recovery of residual β cells and consequently remission of diabetes. Here we report a cell-based therapy for autoimmune diabetes in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice using dermal fibroblasts.

A solitary pulmonary ground-glass nodule in adult systemic langerhans' cell histiocytosis.

During a thoracic computed tomography (CT) scan, a 36-year-old male was diagnosed with a solitary oval pulmonary mixed ground-glass nodule in the right upper lobe of the lung. The edge of the nodule was well-defined, and its largest axial size was approximately 1.1 × 0.

Identification of a Hematopoietic Cell Dedifferentiation-Inducing Factor.

It has long been realized that hematopoietic cells may have the capacity to trans-differentiate into non-lymphohematopoietic cells under specific conditions. However, the mechanisms and the factors for hematopoietic cell trans-differentiation remain unknown. In an in vitro culture system, we found that using a conditioned medium from proliferating fibroblasts can induce a subset of hematopoietic cells to become adherent fibroblast-like cells (FLCs).

Methotrexate modulates the expression of MMP-1 and type 1 collagen in dermal fibroblast.

Methotrexate (MTX), an anti-metabolite and anti-inflammatory drug, has been used to effectively manage and prevent keloids, but its mechanism(s) of action has not been elucidated. Our study sought to evaluate the effect of MTX on the production of key extra cellular matrix components, collagen, and matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), produced by fibroblasts and involved in development of fibrosis. The proliferation and viability of cultured human dermal fibroblasts in response to different concentrations of MTX were determined using cell counting and MTT assay, respectively.

Effects of kynurenine on CD3+ and macrophages in wound healing.

As prolongation of the inflammation phase in a healing process frequently leads to wound impairment, here we queried whether kynurenine (Kyn) could modulate this phase of wound healing. To address this, a protein microarray, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), flow cytometry for immune cells and immune cell proliferation in the presence and absence of Kyn were conducted and compared. The result of a protein microarray revealed that the expression of 12 pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines was modulated in Kyn-treated mouse splenocytes as compared with those of control.

Kynurenine increases matrix metalloproteinase-1 and -3 expression in cultured dermal fibroblasts and improves scarring in vivo.

We previously demonstrated that the formation of hypertrophic scarring on the wounds of a rabbit ear fibrotic model was significantly reduced by grafting a bilayer skin substitute expressing indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Here, we hypothesize that the improved healing quality is due to extracellular matrix modulatory effect of IDO-mediated tryptophan metabolites. To test this hypothesis, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted and the findings revealed a significant increase in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) in fibroblasts either transduced with human IDO gene or cultured with conditioned media obtained from IDO-expressing cells.

Human red blood cells contain antifibrogenic factors that stimulate MMP-1 expression in dermal fibroblasts.

The healing of a burn injury is a dynamic biological process, and there must be a set of factors that gradually slow down and/or terminate this healing process upon epithelialization. We have previously demonstrated that some members of the 14-3-3 protein family including stratifin, which is mainly released by differentiated keratinocytes, have a potent matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), -3, -8, and -24 stimulatory effect for fibroblasts. During the course of our studies, we discovered that human red blood cells (RBCs) contain a high level of different 14-3-3 isoforms.

Red blood cell lysate modulates the expression of extracellular matrix proteins in dermal fibroblasts.

During the early stage of wound healing process, blood clots can be served as a temporary extracellular matrix (ECM) to let skin cell migration and proliferation. The red blood cells are generally thought as inert bystanders in the early and inflammatory phase of wound healing. Here, we provide evidence that red blood cells (RBC) also play an important role in modulation of key ECM components such as type-I collagen, α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

Mechanism underlying defective interferon gamma-induced IDO expression in non-obese diabetic mouse fibroblasts.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) can locally suppress T cell-mediated immune responses. It has been shown that defective self-tolerance in early prediabetic female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice can be attributed to the impaired interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)- induced IDO expression in dendritic cells of these animals. As IFN-γ can induce IDO in both dendritic cells and fibroblasts, we asked the question of whether there exists a similar defect in IFN-γ-induced IDO expression in NOD mice dermal fibroblasts.

Microarray-based identification of aminopeptidase N target genes in keratinocyte conditioned medium-stimulated dermal fibroblasts.

Of the many processes that affect the outcome of wound repair, epidermal-dermal interactions are essential to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and in particular, soluble factors released by keratinocytes are known to have a direct impact on the production of ECM by dermal fibroblasts. Aminopeptidase N (APN) has recently been proposed as a cell-surface receptor for stratifin and is responsible for the stratifin-mediated matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) upregulation in fibroblasts. The present study examines whether modulation of APN gene expression has any impact on the fibroblast ECM gene expression profile.