Altered expression of dermokine in skin disorders Hasegawa, M.; Higashi, K.; Yokoyama, C. ...
Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology,
July 2013, Volume:
27, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Background Although dermokine‐β, a glycoprotein expressed in epithelial cells, does not have significant homology to other proteins, its carboxyl‐terminal domain shares a high pI value with many ...cytokines, suggesting similar functions.
Objective To better understand the biology of dermokine, we here determined its localization under pathological conditions and examined factors that regulate its expression.
Methods We generated an anti‐human dermokine‐β/γ monoclonal antibody cross‐reacting with the mouse protein. Using this antibody, immunohistological staining and Western blotting of dermokine‐β/γ were performed with various tissue samples.
Results Although human dermokine‐β/γ was expressed in almost all granular layers, upper spinous layers of the skin were also stained with anti‐dermokine‐β/γ antibody in inflammatory skin disorders. Dermokine‐β/γ was expressed in keratoacanthoma and a part of well‐differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, dermokine‐β/γ was not detected in poorly differentiated SCC or tumours derived from non‐keratinocytes. In mice, dermokine‐β/γ‐expressed keratinocytes were increased in models of contact hypersensitivity, ultraviolet‐irradiated skin injury and wound healing. Consistent with expanded distribution in inflammatory skin diseases, proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin‐1β, interleukin‐12, and tumour necrosis factor‐α augmented dermokine‐β/γ expression in cultured human keratinocytes. In contrast, growth factors including epidermal growth factor, insulin‐like growth factor‐I, keratinocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor‐α significantly reduced dermokine expression.
Conclusion These results provide novel insights into the physiological and pathological significance of dermokine in the epidermis.
Highlights ► Kir4.1 is expressed not only in glial cells but also in vestibular neurons. ► Kir4.1 is localized at the calyx endings which surround type I hair cells. ► Kir4.1 may play a role in the ...K+ -buffering action of vestibular afferents. ► Expression of Kir4.1 gradually adopts a calyceal shape after birth.
We report characterization of ZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) on glass substrates fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). ZnO films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force ...microscopy and Hall effect measurements. The XRD results showed high
c
-axis-oriented ZnO(0002) diffraction corresponding to the wurtzite phase. Moreover, the crystallization and the electrical properties of ZnO thin films grown at room temperature are controllable by PLD growth conditions such as oxygen gas pressure. The ZnO films are very smooth, with a root-mean-square roughness of 1 nm. From the Hall effect measurements, we have succeeded in fabricating ZnO films on glass substrates with an electron mobility of 21.7 cm
2
/V s. By using the ZnO thin film grown by two-step PLD and a HfO
2
high-
k
gate insulator, a transconductance of 24.1 mS/mm, a drain current on/off ratio of 4.4×10
6
and a subthreshold gate swing of 0.26 V/decade were obtained for the ZnO TFT.
This prospective study aimed to investigate the influence of pretransplant serum ferritin levels on the outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT). In total, 190 patients with acute leukemia or ...myelodysplastic syndrome were consecutively enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: low-ferritin group (<1000 ng/mL) and high-ferritin group (⩾1000 ng/mL). The primary end point was the cumulative incidence of infection within 100 days after HSCT, which was similar between the two groups: bloodstream infection, 35 vs 38%, P=0.65; bacterial infection, 44 vs 41%, P=0.68; and fungal infection, 6 vs 8%, P=0.71. The 1-year adjusted probability of OS of the high-ferritin group was significantly lower than that of the low-ferritin group (76 vs 63%, P=0.017). Using receiver operating characteristic curve, the threshold of pretransplant serum ferritin levels for bloodstream infection was 1400 ng/mL; the threshold for OS, EFS and non-relapse mortality was 1349 ng/mL. In conclusion, pretransplant serum ferritin levels of ⩾1000 ng/mL did not influence the incidence of infection but adversely affected OS after HSCT. A higher threshold of pretransplant serum ferritin levels may predict HSCT outcomes.
Experimental and computational studies of the positron-stimulated O+ ion desorption process from a TiO2(1 1 0) surface are reported. The measured data indicate that the O+ ion yields depend on the ...positron incident energy in the energy range between 0.5 keV and 15 keV. This dependence is closely related to the fraction of positrons which diffuse back to the surface after thermalization in the bulk. Based on the experimental and computational results, we conclude that the ion desorption via positron-stimulation occurs dominantly by the annihilation of surface-trapped positrons with core electrons of the topmost surface atoms.
We investigated the expression of two candidate transducers of noxious stimuli in peripheral tissues, the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR1) and the P2X(3), a subunit of the ionotropic P2X receptor ...for ATP, in spared L4 DRG neurons following L5 spinal nerve ligation, a neuropathic pain model. VR1 mRNA expression increased in the small- and medium-sized DRG neurons from the first to 28th day after injury, and this up-regulation corresponded well with the development and maintenance of thermal hyperalgesia of the hind paw. The increase in VR1-immunoreactive (ir) neurons was confirmed at the third day after surgery. In contrast, there was no change in expression of P2X(3) mRNA over 4 weeks after ligation, or in the percentage of P2X(3)-ir neurons observed 3 days after surgery. Our data suggests that increased VR1 in the spared L4 DRG may contribute to the exaggerated heat response observed in this neuropathic pain model. Taken together with the previous reports that P2X(3) expression increases in the spared DRG neurons in other neuropathic pain models, there appears to be differences in the phenotypic changes and pathomechanisms of the various neuropathic pain models.
Understanding x-ray radiation damage is a crucial issue for both medical applications of x rays and x-ray free-electron-laser (XFEL) science aimed at molecular imaging. Decrypting the charge and ...fragmentation dynamics of nucleobases, the smallest units of a macro-biomolecule, contributes to a bottom-up understanding of the damage via cascades of phenomena following x-ray exposure. We investigate experimentally and by numerical simulations the ultrafast radiation damage induced on a nucleobase analogue (5-iodouracil) by an ultrashort (10 fs) high-intensity radiation pulse generated by XFEL at SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron Laser (SACLA). The present study elucidates a plausible underlying radiosensitizing mechanism of 5-iodouracil. This mechanism is independent of the exact composition of 5-iodouracil and thus relevant to other such radiosensitizers. Furthermore, we found that despite a rapid increase of the net molecular charge in the presence of iodine, and of the ultrafast release of hydrogen, the other atoms are almost frozen within the 10-fs duration of the exposure. This validates single-shot molecular imaging as a consistent approach, provided the radiation pulse used is brief enough.
We investigated Ne(+) ions and Ne(n)(+) (n = 2-20) cluster ions desorbed from the surface of solid Ne by 1.0 keV Ar(+) ion impact. Kinetic energy analysis shows a considerably narrower energy ...distribution for Ne(n)(+) (n ≥ 3) ions than for Ne(n)(+) (n = 1, 2) ions. The dependence of ion yields on Ne film thickness indicates that cluster ions (n ≥ 3) are desorbed only from relatively thick films. We conclude that desorbed ions grow into large cluster ions during the outflow of deep bulk atoms to the vacuum.
Ghrelin, the endogenous ligand for growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHS-R1a), stimulates food intake in mammals centrally and peripherally. In contrast, central injection of ghrelin inhibits ...feeding in neonatal chicks (Gallus gallus), which is thought to be mediated by the corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) system, indicating that the mechanisms underlying ghrelin's action are different in chicks and mammals. However, the interaction between the ghrelin system and the CRH system has not been fully clarified in chicks. In the present study, we examined the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of CRH and urocortin-3 (UCN-3), a CRH family peptide and an endogenous ligand for the CRH type-2 receptor (CRH-R2), on synthesis and secretion of ghrelin in chicks. Intracerebroventricular injection of UCN-3 but not CRH increased plasma ghrelin concentration (P < 0.05), diencephalic mRNA expression of ghrelin, and GHS-R1a (P < 0.05) and tended to decrease ghrelin (P = 0.08) and GHS-R1a (P = 0.10) mRNA expression in the proventriculus. Moreover, ICV injection of UCN-3 tended to increase diencephalic mRNA expression of CRH-R2 (P = 0.08) and CRH had no effect on it. In addition, ICV injection of CRH but not UCN-3 increased plasma corticosterone concentration (P < 0.05) and decreased the diencephalic mRNA expression of CRH-R1 (P < 0.05). These results clearly indicate that the roles of the CRH system for the ghrelin system are divided. The present study suggests that UCN-3 is mainly involved in the ghrelin system in chicks perhaps through the CRH-R2.
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