ABSTRACT
Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that plays a role in terminal differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes. There are conflicting reports regarding the role of KLF4 in tumor development, with both the tumor suppressive and/or oncogenic properties depending on different conditions and cell types. In this study, we investigated the functional importance of KLF4 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Immunohistochemistry showed that KLF4 expression was relatively low in SCC lesion compared to normal epidermis. To examine the effects of KFL4, we transduced SCC lines (SCC12 and SCC13â¯cells) with the KLF4-expressing recombinant adenovirus. Overexpression of KLF4 significantly decreased cell proliferation and colony forming activity. In addition, overexpression of KLF4 markedly reduced invasive potential, along with the downregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related molecules. In a mechanistic study, KLF4 inhibited SOX2, of which expression is critical for tumor initiation and growth of SCC. Further investigations indicated that SOX2 expression is induced by TGF-ß/SMAD signaling, and that overexpression of KLF4 inhibited SMAD signaling via upregulation of SMAD7, an important inhibitory SMAD molecule. Based on these data, KLF4 plays a tumor suppressive role in cutaneous SCC cells.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/genetics , Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors/genetics , SOXB1 Transcription Factors/genetics , Skin Neoplasms/genetics , Smad Proteins/metabolism , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/metabolism , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation , Down-Regulation , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Kruppel-Like Factor 4 , Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors/metabolism , Neoplasm Invasiveness/genetics , Neoplasm Invasiveness/pathology , SOXB1 Transcription Factors/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Skin Neoplasms/metabolism , Skin Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Melasma is a common pigmentary disorder which poses substantial therapeutic challenge. Combined therapy may be beneficial in Asians, where mixed type melasma is dominant. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the efficacy and safety of a 1064 nm Q-switched Nd: YAG (1064 QSNY) and a nonablative 1550 nm erbium-doped fractional photothermolysis (NFP) treatment in Asian melasma. METHODS: This was a split face study, in which 26 patients were treated with the 1064 QSNY (6 mm spot size, 1.2-1.4 J/cm(2) fluence) for 10 sessions at 2-week intervals to the entire face, and with the NFP (dynamic mode, pulse energy 6-8 mJ/microthermal zone (MTZ); total density 300 MTZs/cm(2)) for five sessions at 4-week intervals to the experimental side of the face. Efficacy variables were modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (mMASI), the physician's global assessment (PhGA), and patient's subjective global assessment (PGA). Safety was evaluated through the reporting of adverse events. RESULTS: The percentage of subjective improvement was virtually identical on both sides. The mMASI corroborated the patients' subjective estimate, both in terms of the degree of improvement and the lack of difference between the 1064 QSNY + NFP and the 1064 QSNY treated sides. No serious side effects were reported in either side. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support the hypothesis of NFP providing a substantial benefit in treating the melasma when compared with the lone treatment of the 1064 QSNY.
Subject(s)
Lasers, Solid-State/therapeutic use , Low-Level Light Therapy/methods , Melanosis/therapy , Phototherapy/methods , Adult , Asian People , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Patient Satisfaction , Statistics, Nonparametric , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Desmoid tumors are uncommon benign neoplasm of the fibroblasts. They occur rarely in the general population, but they are comparatively common in patients with familial polyposis coli with or without other elements of Gardner's syndrome. Herein, we report a 16-year-old woman with Gardner's syndrome complicated by desmoid tumors on the right subscapular area.
ABSTRACT
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is well known for its frequent metastasis and particularly to the lungs, liver, bones and brain, but metastasis to the skin is rare. We report here on a case of metastatic RCC in a 73-year-old man who presented with a 1.5 cm sized, moist, beefy-red and exophytic nodule on the scalp. The lesion had grown rapidly for 2 months and it clinically mimicked granuloma pyogenicum. A skin biopsy revealed a solid mass composed of clear cells with clear cytoplasm and oval hyperchromatic nuclei, and they were arranged in an alveolar pattern. As skin metastasis from renal cell carcinoma signals widespread systemic metastasis and a poor prognosis, clinicians should conduct a careful inspection of the skin of a patient with RCC and they should also have a high index of suspicion for finding a primary internal organ malignancy in the RCC patients who present with a skin lesion.
