Cellular senescence and aging result in a reduced ability to manage persistent types of inflammation. Thus, the chronic low-level inflammation associated with aging phenotype is called ..."inflammaging". Inflammaging is not only related with age-associated chronic systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but also skin aging. As the largest organ of the body, skin is continuously exposed to external stressors such as UV radiation, air particulate matter, and human microbiome. In this review article, we present mechanisms for accumulation of senescence cells in different compartments of the skin based on cell types, and their association with skin resident immune cells to describe changes in cutaneous immunity during the aging process.
•The scRNA-seq enables profiling of transcriptome at a single-cell resolution.•There are various sources causing artificial noise in each step of scRNA-seq.•The scRNA-seq may empower dermatologists ...to expand the scope of skin research.
The bulk tissue RNA sequencing technique measures the average gene expression of potentially heterogeneous cellular subsets of human skin. However, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables both profiling of gene expression measurements at a single-cell resolution and identification of cellular heterogeneity. This recent technical advance has broadened the understanding of many aspects of skin biology, such as development, oncogenesis, and immunopathogenesis. However, due to the low number of mRNAs detectable in an individual cell and the alteration of transcriptomes during sample preparation, scRNA-seq data are often extremely noisy. Moreover, unstandardized methodologies for sample preparation, capturing, and bioinformatic analysis (e.g., batch correction or integration) hamper reliable inter-study comparisons. Nevertheless, sophisticated bioinformatic analysis and integrative omics-based approaches are making up for these limitations. Here, we discuss both the advantages and technical challenges of scRNA-seq, a promising tool opening new horizons in dermatological research.
Next-generation and solution-processed thin-film solar cells have been attracted considerable attention because of their low cost, light weight, flexibility, and aesthetics. However, most of ...solution-processed thin-film solar cells are now focused on the use of photovoltaic absorbers containing the toxic element of Pb. In this study, eco-friendly silver-bismuth-iodide (Ag-Bi-I) thin-film photovoltaic devices with high open-circuit voltages (
V
OC
) are developed by utilizing polythieno3,4-
b
-thiophene-co-benzodithiophene (PTB7) as the hole transport layer (HTL). The solution-processed AgBi
2
I
7
semiconductor, which is an Ag-Bi-I ternary compound, exhibit features suitable for photovoltaic layers in thin-film solar cells, including a three-dimensional (3D) crystal structure, good surface morphology, and low optical bandgaps of 1.87 eV. Meanwhile, the solution-processed AgBi
2
I
7
thin-film solar cell based on the PTB7 HTL exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 0.94% with an improved
V
OC
value of 0.71 V owing to the deeper highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level compared to that of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT). In other words, the
V
OC
of the PTB7 HTL-based device is 20% higher than that of the P3HT HTL-based control device. Our results provide a new approach for increasing the
V
OC
of eco-friendly Ag-Bi-I thin-film photovoltaics and indicate that further HTL engineering is necessary to simultaneously improve the
V
OC
and performance of the devices.
Graphical Abstract
Conductive paste inks have received considerable attention as facile conductive materials for the formation of electrode layers. However, conventional paste inks result in films with poor surface ...morphology. In addition, they require a high thermal annealing temperature for achieving high electrical conductivity because of their organic/inorganic composite structure, in which nanosized metal particles and polymeric organic binders are mixed in solvents. In this work, we prepare solvent-free and polymeric-binder-free metal nanoparticle (NP) fluids, which can be used as facile conductive pastes for forming an electrode layer after sintering at a considerably low temperature. We employ thiol-terminated imidazolium-type ionic liquid (IL-SH) molecules with a small molecular weight and fluidic behavior as the surface ligands of Ag NPs. IL-SH-stabilized Ag NPs exhibit fluidic behavior and metallic conducting properties at a considerably low sintering temperature of 250 °C.
Graphical Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder which is associated with impaired skin barrier function. In this context, it was shown that serum IgE level was elevated in significant proportion of ...psoriasis patients. However, whether serum IgE levels are associated with treatment outcomes of psoriasis has not been understood. We retrospectively analyzed psoriasis patients who visited our clinics through electromedical records. Patients with history of atopic dermatitis were excluded. Total of 483 patients clinically or pathologically diagnosed with psoriasis vulgaris were included for analyses. Initial mean serum IgE level was 226 ± 490.3 KU/L and patients with IgE higher than upper limit normal value were 42.0% (n = 203). Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75 achievement rate according to IgE elevation was analyzed and no statistically meaningful difference was shown. In addition, logistic regression analysis to find out relationship between PASI 75 achievement and IgE titer also failed to show statistically significant relationship. In conclusion, serum IgE level was elevated in significant proportion in the patients with psoriasis, but its elevated level was not associated with treatment outcome.
Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disorder that is characterized by keratinocyte hyperproliferation and abnormal differentiation, resulting in the thickening of the epidermis and stratum ...corneum. In this study, we investigated in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects of tussilagonone (TGN), a sesquiterpenoid isolated from Tussilago farfara, on transcription factors relevant for the pathogenesis of psoriasis. TGN inhibited activation of NF-κB and STAT3, leading to the attenuated expression of psoriasis-related inflammatory genes and suppression of keratinocyte hyperproliferation. Mechanistically, we show that the inhibition of NF-κB and STAT3 by TGN is mediated through activation of the cytoprotective transcription factor NRF2. Evaluation of in vivo antipsoriatic effects of topical TGN in the imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis mouse model demonstrated amelioration of imiquimod-induced phenotypical changes, lesion severity score, epidermal thickening, and reduction in dermal cellularity. The spleen index also diminished in TGN-treated mice, suggesting anti-inflammatory properties of TGN. Moreover, TGN significantly attenuated the imiquimod-induced mRNA levels of psoriasis-associated inflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial peptides and reduced epidermal hyperproliferation. Taken together, TGN, as a potent NRF2 activator, is a promising therapeutic candidate for the development of antipsoriatic agents derived from medicinal plants.
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The association between psoriasis and risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease has not been thoroughly evaluated in a large longitudinal cohort of an Asian population. We conducted a nationwide ...population-based retrospective cohort study encompassing more than 1.7 million Koreans with a 15-year follow-up period. The period prevalence of psoriasis was 0.33% among the baseline participants (1997-2000). In Cox proportional hazard analyses, the individuals with psoriasis had a higher adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for incidence of overall atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (HR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.09-1.27) compared with controls. Subgroup analyses revealed that the risk for myocardial infarction was commonly increased in both sexes with moderate to severe psoriasis (male: HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.35-3.24; female: HR, 3.23; 95% CI, 1.34-7.76), whereas the risk for ischemic stroke was specifically increased in female individuals with moderate to severe psoriasis (HR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.24-3.30). Our data suggest that appropriate medical screening for possible cardiovascular comorbidities is warranted in Asian psoriatic patients according to disease severity and sex.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are heterogeneous groups of innate immune cells, which orchestrate immune responses by presenting antigens to cognate T cells and stimulating other types of immune cells. ...Although the term 'DCs' generally represent highly mixed subsets with functional heterogeneity, the classical definition of DCs usually denotes conventional DCs (cDCs). Skin contains a unique DC network mainly composed of embryo precursor-derived epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs) and bone marrow-derived dermal cDCs, which can be further classified into type 1 (cDC1) and type 2 (cDC2) subsets. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which is principally mediated by IL-23/IL-17 cytokine axis. In the psoriatic skins, DCs are prominent cellular sources for TNF-α and IL-23, and the use of blocking antibodies against TNF-α and IL-23 leads to a significant clinical improvement in psoriatic patients. Recent elegant human and mouse studies have shown that inflammation-induced inflammatory DCs, LCs, dermal cDC2, and monocyte-derived DCs are pivotal DC subsets in psoriatic inflammation. Thus, targeting specific pathogenic DC subsets would be a potential strategy for alleviating and preventing DC-derived IL-23-dependent psoriatic inflammation and other inflammatory dermatoses in the future.
In Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototype poxvirus, scaffold protein D13 forms a honeycomb-like lattice on the viral membrane that results in formation of the pleomorphic immature virion (IV). The ...structure of D13 is similar to those of major capsid proteins that readily form icosahedral capsids in nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs). However, the detailed assembly mechanism of the nonicosahedral poxvirus scaffold has never been understood. Here we show the cryo-EM structures of the D13 trimer and scaffold intermediates produced in vitro. The structures reveal that the displacement of the short N-terminal α-helix is critical for initiation of D13 self-assembly. The continuous curvature of the IV is mediated by electrostatic interactions that induce torsion between trimers. The assembly mechanism explains the semiordered capsid-like arrangement of D13 that is distinct from icosahedral NCLDVs. Our structures explain how a single protein can self-assemble into different capsid morphologies and represent a local exception to the universal Caspar-Klug theory of quasi-equivalence.
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