ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Neuropsin (KLK8), a serine protease of the kallikrein family, is thought to be involved in the function of keratinocytes, i.e. migration, differentiation and desquamation. However, how neuropsin participates is still unknown. OBJECTIVE: To observe the epidermal function of serine protease in neuropsin-deficient mice. METHODS: We irradiated the skin of neuropsin-deficient mice with ultraviolet light to induce acute inflammation and compared the morphology with that of wild-type mice. RESULTS: We observed a phenotypic change in the epidermis. An acute inflammatory dose of ultraviolet light induced a marked increase in neuropsin mRNA expression in the skin. The signal intensity of the mRNA expression was highest on day 2-3 after irradiation, when keratinocytes were aligned irregularly in the recovery period. Morphological comparison between neuropsin -/- and +/+ mice revealed that an irregular alignment of cells in the thickened epidermis was obvious on day 2 after irradiation in the wild-type mice, whereas it was prolonged for at least 2 days in the neuropsin-deficient mice. The stratum corneum of neuropsin-deficient mice was remarkably thicker than that of the wild-type mice at 5, 14 and 21 days after irradiation. The increase, as a response to this stimulus, in involucrin immunoreactivity, a marker for cell envelope assembly, was delayed in the mutant mice. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, neuropsin might be involved early in the process of differentiation, such as in the assembly of the cell envelope, but not in migration and desquamation.
Subject(s)
Epidermis/metabolism , Kallikreins/physiology , Radiodermatitis/metabolism , Ultraviolet Rays , Wound Healing/physiology , Acute Disease , Animals , Cell Differentiation , Epidermis/pathology , Epidermis/radiation effects , Gene Expression , In Situ Hybridization , Kallikreins/deficiency , Kallikreins/genetics , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , RNA, Messenger/geneticsABSTRACT
AIMS: The expression of human neuropsin (KLK8) mRNA in normal and pathological skin samples was analysed and the results compared with those for tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) mRNA. METHODS: Northern blot and in situ hybridisation analyses of KLK8 mRNA in normal and lesional skin of patients with cutaneous diseases were performed. RESULTS: A weak signal for KLK8 mRNA and no signal for tPA mRNA was seen in normal skin on northern blot analysis. Weak signals for KLK8 were localised to the superficial cells beneath the cornified layer in normal skin on in situ hybridisation. Psoriasis vulgaris, seborrheic keratosis, lichen planus, and squamous cell carcinoma skin samples, which show severe hyperkeratosis, displayed a high density of KLK8 mRNA on northern and in situ hybridisation analyses. The signals were localised in granular and spinous layers of lesional skin in all hyperkeratic samples, including the area surrounding the horn pearls of squamous cell carcinoma. To examine the relation between mRNA expression and terminal differentiation, the expression of KLK8 mRNA was analysed in cell cultures. When keratinisation proceeded in high calcium medium, a correlative increase in the expression of KLK8 mRNA was observed. CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with a role for this protease in the terminal differentiation of keratinocytes.
Subject(s)
Epidermis/enzymology , Kallikreins , Serine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Skin Diseases/enzymology , Adult , Aged , Blotting, Northern , Cell Culture Techniques , Cell Differentiation/physiology , Female , Gene Expression , Humans , In Situ Hybridization , Keratinocytes/enzymology , Male , Middle Aged , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Serine Endopeptidases/genetics , Skin Neoplasms/enzymology , Tissue Plasminogen Activator/genetics , Tissue Plasminogen Activator/metabolismABSTRACT
We report a 45-year-old female patient with dermatomyositis whose corticosteroid-resistant cutaneous manifestations improved with low-dose (0.1 g/kg body weight/day for 5 days weekly for 2 weeks) intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy.
Subject(s)
Dermatomyositis/drug therapy , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/therapeutic use , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Betamethasone/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/administration & dosage , Middle Aged , Prednisolone/therapeutic useABSTRACT
A 79-year-old man developed pustules, erosions, and ulcer with severe pain on the parietal regions of the scalp and the scrotum. In another hospital, mycobacterium was detected from the pustules of the scalp at Gaffky scale 1, and this patient was referred to our clinic. In our hospital, repeated cultures of the pus from the skin lesions of the scalp were negative for mycobacterium. Biopsy specimens obtained from the skin lesions on the scalp disclosed ulcerative granulation with infiltration of inflammatory cells. Antibiotics and antituberculotic agents were ineffective. In contrast, the ulcerative skin lesions on the scalp and scrotum responded well to topical and systemic glucocorticosteroids. Although this patient developed pustular ulcerative skin lesions not only on the scalp but also on the scrotum, we considered this case to be pustular ulcerative dermatosis of the scalp developing ulcerative skin lesions on the scrotum.
