Objective To investigate changes of thyroid function indices and their correlation with blood routine examination results, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein(hsCRP)levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)in 30 inpatients with acute urticaria. Methods Thyroid function indices were retrospectively analyzed in 30 inpatients with acute urticaria (patient group)and 30 healthy controls (control group), including total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibody(TG-Ab)and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPO-Ab). A correlation analysis was done between thyroid function indices and blood routine examination results (white blood cell [WBC]count, neutrophil count, hemoglobin), hsCRP levels and ESR. Results Abnormal thyroid function indices were observed in 23 (23/30, 76.7%) patients with acute urticaria. Compared with the control group, the patient group showed significantly decreased levels of FT3, TT3, TT4 and hemoglobin(t = 6.39, 5.55, 3.57, 3.70, all P < 0.01), but significantly increased positive rates of thyroid autoantibodies (χ2 = 7.68, P < 0.01)as well as WBC counts, neutrophil counts, hsCRP levels and ESR (t = 3.96, 8.73, 2.51, 2.35, all P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between hemoglobin level and FT3, TT3, TT4 levels(r = 0.63, 0.59, 0.37, all P < 0.05), but a negative correlation between neutrophil count and FT3, TT3, TSH levels(r = -0.45,-0.50, -0.37, all P < 0.05), as well as between TT3 and hsCRP levels (r = -0.39, P < 0.05)in the patient group. Conclusion Patients with severe acute urticaria usually show abnormal thyroid function during attacks, which mainly manifests as low T3 syndrome and high positive rates of thyroid autoantibodies, and may be associated with decreased hemoglobin levels and infection.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of intense pulsed light (IPL) on the dermatopathological manifestation in a Bama miniature pig model of steroid-induced dermatitis.MethodsFive female Bama miniature pigs aged two months were selected.The white skin areas with white hair at both sides of the neck served as the target area.Halometasone(0.05％) cream was applied to the right target area twice daily for 60 days to establish a model of steroid-induced dermatitis.Then,3 pigs were randomly selected and irradiated with IPL of 25 J/cm2 at the model area with an interval of 3 weeks for 9 weeks,the remaining 2 pigs receiving no treatment served as the natural recovery group.Finally,skin tissues were obtained from the left and right target areas and subjected to haematoxylin and eosin staining for the observation of histopathological changes.ResultsA significant increase was observed in the layer number of keratinocytes and thickness of dermal collagen fiber in the IPL-treated pigs compared with the pigs in natural recovery group (6.27 ± 1.26 vs.2.98 ±0.92,t =3.27,P＜ 0.01; 1.88 ± 0.19 mm vs.0.84 ± 0.15 mm,t =4.25,P＜ 0.01).Moreover,IPL irradiation resulted in the regression of telangiectasis in the dermis.ConclusionIPL may increase skin thickness,relieve flushing and improve skin elasticity efficiently.

Objective To determine the expression of miRNA211 (miR-211) in the development of malignant melanoma,and to investigate the correlation between miR-211 and its target molecule,matrix metalloproteinase 16 (MMP-16).Methods Cultured A375 melanoma cells were divided into 3 groups:miR-211 overexpression group and mock-vehicle group transfected with miR-211 mimics and empty vehicle respectively,and negative control group receiving no treatment.TaqMan fluorescence-based quantitative PCR was performed to determine the expression of miR-211 in HER1 primary melanocytes,A375,C32 and G361malignant melanoma cell lines,as well as in nevus tissues (n =18) and melanoma tissues (n =41),and to evaluate changes of MMP-16 mRNA expression in A375 cells before and after the overexpression of miR-211.Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay and flow cytometry were conducted to evaluate cellular proliferative activity and determine cell cycle distribution respectively,and methylcellulose assay and Transwell assay to evaluate colony formation and cell migration abilities respectively.The size of selected colonies was used to represent colony formation ability,while the ratio of the number of migrating cells to that of non-migrating cells to represent cell migration ability.Results There were significant differences in the expression level of miR-211 among the G361,C32 and A375 cells (0.09 ± 0.02 vs.0.000 52 ± 0.000 20 vs.0.000 03 ± 0.000 01,F =10 410,P ＜ 0.01).The expression of miR-21 1 was significantly decreased in melanoma tissues compared with nevus tissues (0.17 ± 0.03 vs.0.87 ± 0.08,t =9.118,P ＜ 0.01).No significant differences were observed in cellular proliferative activity or cell cycle distribution among the miR-211 overexpression group,mock-vehicle group and negative control group.Compared with the mock-vehicle group,the miR-211 overexpression group showed significantly suppressed colony formation (0.49 ± 0.05 vs.0.85 ± 0.09,t =2.19,P ＜ 0.05) and cell migration (0.49 ± 0.06 vs.0.82 ± 0.09,t =3.15,P ＜ 0.05) abilities,while no significant difference was observed between the mock-vehicle group and negative control group.Additionally,the mRNA expression of MMP-16 significantly decreased in the miR-211 overexpression group compared with the mock-vehicle group after transfeetion (24 hours:0.33 ± 0.02 vs.0.91 ± 0.03,t =11.30,P ＜ 0.01;48 hours:0.52 ± 0.01 vs.0.96 ± 0.02,t =5.02,P ＜ 0.05;72 hours:0.71 ± 0.01 vs.0.97 ± 0.03,t =3.85,P ＜ 0.05),with no significant difference between the mock-vehicle group and negative control group at the above time points.Conclusions miR-211 was lowly expressed in both malignant melanoma cells and tissues,and it could inhibit both anchorage-independent growth and migration of melanoma cells.After up-regulation of miR-211 expression,the mRNA expression of MMP-16 decreased in A375 cells,suggesting that MMP-16 may be a downstream target of miR-211,and can influence melanoma metastasis.

Objective To compare the short-term efficacy of high-intensity ultraviolet B (UVB) versus 308-nm excimer laser for the treatment of vitiligo.Methods Eighty patients with vitiligo were equally divided into two groups to be treated with high-intensity UVB twice a week or 308-nm excimer laser once a week for eight weeks.Repigmentation was evaluated at the end of the treatment.Results After eight weeks of treatment,repigmentation of different degrees was observed in 83.6％ and 86.1％,and marked repigmentation in 42.1％ and 50％,of the UVB-and excimer laser-treated lesions,respectively.The response rate was significantly lower in facial lesions receiving high-intensity UVB radiation than in those receiving excimer laser radiation (49.1％ vs.68.4％,x2 =4.32,P ＜ 0.05),but similar at the other body sites between the two treatment (all P ＞ 0.05).The cumulative dosage required for initial repigmentation was similar between high-intensity UVB and 308-nm excimer laser (t =0.89,P ＞ 0.05),while the treatment sessions and cumulative dosage required for marked or better repigmentation were significantly increased in UVB-compared with excimer laser-treated lesions (both P ＜ 0.01).In addition,both high-intensity UVB and 308-nm excimer laser were suitable for childhood and active vitiligo.Conclusions Both high-intensity UVB and 308-nm excimer laser are safe and effective in the treatment of vitiligo with rapid onset of action,and the latter appears to be superior to the former in efficacy.

Background: Phototherapy is an important method to treatvitiligo. However, it is unclear how phototherapy affectsmelanocyte precursors and skin neural crest stem cells. Objective: To investigate the underlying mechanisms of narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) induced melanocyte lineagedifferentiated from human scalp-derived neural creststem cells (HS-NCSCs). Methods: HS-NCSCs were expandedfrom scalp hair follicles. The c-Kit−/CD57− HS-NCSCs wereisolated by cell sorting. Different doses of NB-UVB wereused to irradiate these HS-NCSCs. Cell ultrastructure was examinedby transmission electron microscope. Melanocytemarker expression was analyzed by Quantitative RT-PCRand Western blot. Cell proliferation and migration were alsoevaluated. Results: The c-Kit−/CD57− HS-NCSCs expressedembryonic NCSC biomarkers. NB-UVB at a dose of 100 mJof NB-UVB had little effect on the cell proliferation of differentiatedmelanocytes from c-Kit−/CD57− HS-NCSCs, while700 mJ inhibited cell proliferation significantly. The dendriticprocesses of differentiated melanocytes increased afterradiation. The tyrosinase and Melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1R)expression of differentiated melanocytes increased after NB-UVB exposure. The effect of NB-UVB on tyrosinase expressionwas modulated by signaling inhibitors H89 andPD98059 as well as Mc1R level in the cells. The migrationability of differentiated melanocytes was enhanced under100 mJ exposure. Conclusion These data demonstrate thatNB-UVB facilitates melanocytic differentiation of the HSNCSCsand enhances migration of these cells. Mc1R andcAMP pathway play a critical role in NB-UVB induced melanocyticdifferentiation.