Primary cutaneous anaplastic large-cell lymphoma with 6p25.3 rearrangement exhibits a biphasic histopathologic pattern: Two case reports and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Primary cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative diseases are the second most common group of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, including lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP), primary cutaneous anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (pcALCL), and borderline cases. These diseases form a spectrum and may show overlapping histopathological, phenotypic, and genetic features. In the 2016 WHO classification, LyP with 6p25.3 rearrangement was introduced as a rare new subtype of LyP and showed distinctive clinicopathological features. The striking biphasic histopathologic pattern presented with larger transformed lymphocytes diffusely infiltrating the dermis and smaller atypical cells infiltrating the epidermis as in pagetoid reticulosis. METHODS: Herein we report two cases of pcALCL with rearrangement involving the DUSP22-IRF4 locus on 6p25.3 that show the same particular biphasic histopathologic pattern. We review the literature regarding five similar reported cases and discuss the clinical, pathologic immunotype and follow-up features. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that the biphasic histopathologic pattern is not a unique characteristic of LyP with 6p25.3 rearrangement. CONCLUSION: Cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative diseases with 6p25.3 rearrangement may have the same biphasic histopathological pattern and favorable prognosis, although a variety of clinical manifestations ranging from LyP to pcALCL and even anaplastic lymphoma kinase negative systemic ALCL with secondary cutaneous involvement may be observed.

TRPV3 enhances skin keratinocyte proliferation through EGFR-dependent signaling pathways.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3) is highly expressed in skin keratinocytes where it forms Ca2+-permeable nonselective cation channels to regulate various cutaneous functions. TRPV3 expression is upregulated in many skin disorders. Here, we examined how TRPV3 affects keratinocyte proliferation and investigated the underlying mechanism. Topical application of TRPV3 agonist, carvacrol, increased skin thickness in wild type (WT) mice but not in TRPV3 knockout (KO) mice. Carvacrol promoted proliferation of human keratinocytes HaCaT cells at concentrations ≤ 100 µM, but at 300 µM, it decreased cell viability, suggesting a nonmonotonic proliferative effect. Suppression of TRPV3 expression abolished carvacrol-induced cell proliferation while overexpression of TRPV3 enhanced HaCaT cell proliferation. Carvacrol also stimulated Ca2+ influx and proliferation of primary keratinocytes prepared from WT but not TRPV3 KO mice, suggesting that carvacrol-stimulated cell proliferation was dependent on TRPV3-mediated Ca2+ influx. Mechanistic investigation demonstrated that carvacrol stimulated TGFα release and increased phosphorylation levels of EGFR, PI3K, and NF-κB, effects abolished by suppression of TRPV3 expression and CaMKII inhibition. Moreover, inhibition of CaMKII, EGFR, PI3K, or NF-κB diminished carvacrol-induced cell proliferation. We conclude that while strong activation of TRPV3 may cause cell death, moderate activation of TRPV3 promotes cell proliferation in keratinocytes through Ca2+/CaMKII→TGFα/EGFR→PI3K→NF-κB signaling. Graphical abstract Headlights 1. Carvacrol induces epidermal hyperplasia and keratinocyte proliferation. 2. TRPV3 mediates carvacrol-induced epidermal hyperplasia and keratinocyte proliferation. 3. TRPV3 acts through Ca2+/CaMKII→TGFα/EGFR→PI3K→NF-κB signaling to promote keratinocyte proliferation.

H2 O2 -induced oxidative stress disrupts mitochondrial functions and impairs migratory potential of human epidermal melanocytes.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have already been demonstrated to impede the migratory ability in non-melanocytic cell lines by depleting mitochondrial ATP production. Therefore, understanding the mitochondrial metabolic response to migration in the presence of ROS should be a key to understanding repigmentation in vitiligo. This study aimed to investigate the energy mechanism associated with the ROS-mediated attenuation of melanocyte migration. After melanocytes were pretreated with H2 O2 , their ATP production, migratory ability, ultrastructural changes and Mitochondrial Permeability Potential were analysed. The results showed that, in parallel with the decreased ATP production, the migratory ability of melanocytes was significantly inhibited by oxidative stress. Supplementation with exogenous ATP reversed the suppressed ATP-dependent migration of melanocytes. Melanocytes were then stressed with H2 O2 and Agilent Whole Human Genome microarray analysis identified 763 up-regulated mRNAs and 1117 down-regulated mRNAs. Among them, 11 of the encoded proteins were involved in mitochondrial ATP production and their expression levels were verified. The decreased expression of NADH dehydrogenase 2(ND2) , cytochrome c oxidase 1(COX1) and cytochrome c oxidase 3(COX3) was shown to be involved in the depletion of mitochondrial ATP production, which was coupled with the impaired migratory potential. These results indicate that the migration of melanocytes relies heavily on an inexhaustible supply of ATP from mitochondria.

Spectrum of dermoscopic patterns in lichen planus: a case series from China.

BACKGROUND: Dermoscopy has been shown to be a promising method to facilitate the diagnosis of lichen planus (LP) outside of China. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spectrum of dermoscopic patterns in Chinese LP patients. METHODS: The clinical data and dermoscopic patterns of nine LP cases with a total of 43 lesions were evaluated. RESULTS: To the naked eye, 20.97% of the lesions exhibited graying Wickham striae (WS); however, 37.5% presented with white streaks of annular, reticular, or leaf venation patterns under dermoscopy. Blue-white veils were occasionally observed in the center. Pigment patterns varied from dots, globules, and peppered pigment to pigmented lines, which were unrelated to the pigment network of the skin. At the periphery of the WS, red fine lines ran parallel to the delicate white streaming lines. CONCLUSIONS: WS exhibits five morphological patterns (leaf venation, reticular, white dots, circular and radial streaming) and three color patterns (homogeneous crystalline white, blue-white veil and yellowish-white). The pigment patterns consisted of dots/globules, peppered pigments and pigment. streaming lines.

Cutaneous and systemic plasmacytosis showing histopathologic features as mixed-type Castleman disease: a case report.

Cutaneous and systemic plasmacytosis (CSP) is a rare disorder characterized by disseminated reddish brown plaques and polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia. The lesions of CSP are histologically characterized by an infiltration of mature polyclonal plasma cells, which display similar pathological features to the plasma cell-type Castleman disease (CD). The relationship between CSP and CD is controversial. Herein, we described a 43-year-old man from China with disseminated reddish brown plaques and nodules on the cheek and temple. The serum level of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A were higher than normal. In addition to mature plasma cell perivascular infiltrate in the dermis, the biopsy of the lesions showed small to medium-sized germinal follicles with hyalinized vessels and a concentrically arranged mantle zone. The patient had clinical features of CSP, but the biopsy revealed changes resembling mixed-type CD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of CSP with the pathological features of mixed-type CD reported from China.

The protective antibodies induced by a novel epitope of human TNF-alpha could suppress the development of collagen-induced arthritis.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a major inflammatory mediator that exhibits actions leading to tissue destruction and hampering recovery from damage. At present, two antibodies against human TNF-alpha (hTNF-alpha) are available, which are widely used for the clinic treatment of certain inflammatory diseases. This work was undertaken to identify a novel functional epitope of hTNF-alpha. We performed screening peptide library against anti-hTNF-alpha antibodies, ELISA and competitive ELISA to obtain the epitope of hTNF-alpha. The key residues of the epitope were identified by means of combinatorial alanine scanning and site-specific mutagenesis. The N terminus (80-91 aa) of hTNF-alpha proved to be a novel epitope (YG1). The two amino acids of YG1, proline and valine, were identified as the key residues, which were important for hTNF-alpha biological function. Furthermore, the function of the epitope was addressed on an animal model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA could be suppressed in an animal model by prevaccination with the derivative peptides of YG1. The antibodies of YG1 could also inhibit the cytotoxicity of hTNF-alpha. These results demonstrate that YG1 is a novel epitope associated with the biological function of hTNF-alpha and the antibodies against YG1 can inhibit the development of CIA in animal model, so it would be a potential target of new therapeutic antibodies.

Selection of novel nickel-binding peptides from flagella displayed secondary peptide library.

Nickel (Ni) performs its biological or toxic functions in nickel-protein coordination form. Novel Ni-binding peptides were isolated from a random dodecapeptide library displayed on the flagella of Escherichia coli against immobilized ions. On the basis of isolated sequences rich in histidine residues, two secondary libraries were constructed respectively. By consequent selection, more Ni-chelating peptides were identified and the consensus motif RHXHR (where X was always H) was deduced. The result suggested that not only histidine, but also arginine, play an important role in Ni-binding. Furthermore, two selected clones (1035 and 2022) were chosen for further identification. They exhibited similar relative binding affinity, which was about nine times that of the original library derived clones and statistically much more significant than the positive control with polyhistidine insert. Free nickel ions could almost completely inhibit the binding of the clones 1035 and 2022 to immobilized nickel, implicating that the peptides were able to chelate nickel ions. These studies reveal that bacterial surface displayed peptide libraries may have promising future potential for the development of metal bioadsorbents. Furthermore, novel Ni-binding peptides may provide lead molecules for Ni-chelation and applications thereof.

A novel peptide isolated from phage library to substitute a complex system for a vaccine against staphylococci infection.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen and many of the strains are resistant to conventional antibacterial treatment. The bacteria cause disease largely due to the production of multiple toxins, whose synthesis is controlled by an RNA molecule termed RNAIII. The production of RNAIII is induced by quorum sensing systems, one of them containing the protein RNAIII activating protein (RAP). Here we show that we partially purified supernatant of S. aureus, used this fraction to vaccinate mice, and selected antibody-binding peptides by phage display. Mice were vaccinated with the various peptides and challenged with S. aureus. One of the binding peptide termed R13 induced a protective immune response. Western blot analysis showed that the anti-R13 antibodies specifically bind to native or recombinant RAP. Mice vaccinated with R13 were protected and protection was sustained for the duration of the 6-month study period. Our results show that R13 could be used as a long-term effective protective-peptide-vaccine to prevent S. aureus infections and once again show that targeting the RAP quorum sensing system is an effective approach to preventing staphylococcal infections. In addition our studies show that selection of specific protective peptides by phage display using sera induced by complex antigens is a rapid and effective way to identify the protective antigen and select for a peptide vaccine.

A novel peptide screened by phage display can mimic TRAP antigen epitope against Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen. Pathogenic effects are largely due to production of bacterial toxins, whose synthesis is controlled by an mRNA molecule termed RNAIII. The S. aureus protein called RAP (RNAIII-activating protein) is secreted and activates RNAIII production by inducing the phosphorylation of its target protein TRAP (target of RAP). Antibodies to TRAP have been shown to suppress exotoxin production by S. aureus in vitro, suggesting that TRAP may be a useful vaccine target site. Here we showed that a peptide TA21 was identified by screening a phage display library using anti-TRAP antibodies. Mice vaccinated with Escherichia coli engineered to express TA21 on their surface (FTA21) were protected from S. aureus infections, using sepsis and cellulitis mice models. By sequence analysis, it was found that the TA21 is highly homologous to the C-terminal sequence of TRAP which is conserved among S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, suggesting that peptide TA21 may be a useful broad vaccine to protect from infection caused by various staphylococcal strains.

A subtractive fluorescence-activated cell-sorting strategy to identify mimotopes of HBV-preS protein from bacterially displayed peptide library.

A novel subtractive fluorescence-activated cell-sorting (FACS) strategy using a model system is described here to identify disease-specific (DS) epitopes from a bacterially displayed random peptide library. In this process, preimmune serum was used as "Driver " to block any common binding sites on the bacterial surface and the labeled anti-preS IgG polyclonal antibodies from immunized serum were used as "Tester" to enrich preS-specific mimotopes. Bacterial clones were identified out of this pool through an "antigen-independent" procedure only using both different sera samples. After four rounds of sub-FACS screening, 41 out of 50 bacterial clones were identified as reacting with the immunized serum but not reacting with the pre-immune one. Two motif sequences HQLD and DPAF were obtained from 13 clones. Immunization of mice with two representative bacterial clones elicited a strong specific response against native preS antigen in comparison with the control. This technique may provide a useful technology platform for high-throughput screening of disease-related epitope which is of importance to develop vaccine against some infectious diseases whose pathogen or immunodominant antigen is still unknown.

A conformation-constrained peptide library based on insect defensin A.

Here, we reported a conformation-constrained peptide library, that was constructed based on the scaffold of a 29 amino acids peptide derived from insect defensin A. The peptide scaffold was designed utilizing the InsightII molecular modeling software and then displayed on M13 filamentous bacteriophage by fusion with coat protein III. The library was constructed by randomization of seven positions located within the two loops of the peptide scaffold generating approximately 8.3 x 10(8) transformants. Sequences from 14 randomly selected phage clones indicated that the distribution of nucleotides and amino acids paralleled with the expected frequency. Screening against the target proteins: tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF receptor 1, TNF receptor 2 and monoclonal antibody against BMP-2 showed significant enrichment in all cases. The results presented here show that the reconstructed insect defensin A domain will be a promising non-antibody protein scaffold for the presentation of a phage-displayed constrained peptide library.