Objective To clarify whether the mRNA expression level of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) can predict the clinical response to glucocorticoid (GC) in patients with pemphigus. Methods Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied to determine the mRNA expression of GR? and GR? in PBMCs from 30 patients with pemphigus and 30 healthy volunteers. Results GR? mRNA was detected in all patients and all healthy volunteers, and the expression of GR? mRNA in pemphigus patients was significantly lower than that in healthy volunteers (P = 0.044), but no significant difference was found between patients insensitive and sensitive to glucocorticoid. In contrast, GR? mRNA was detected in 10 of 12 patients insensitive to glucocorticoid, 3 of 18 patients sensitive to glucocorticoid, and 9 of 30 healthy Volunteers. The positive rate of GR? in the insensitive group was significantly higher than that in the sensitive group (P

Objective To investigate the in vitro effects of acitretin on the apoptosis and expressions of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in HaCaT cells.Methods Cultured HaCaT cells were treated with various concentrations (10-5,10-64,10-7,10-8 mol/L) of acitretin for various durations,with those cultured in acitretin-free medium serving as the control group.Then,CCK-8 assay was performed to evaluate the proliferation of cells after 24-,48-and 72-hour treatment,flow cytometry to detect the apoptosis of HaCaT cells,and Western blot and reverse transcription-PCR to quantify the protein and mRNA expressions of IGFBP7 and VEGF in HaCaT cells,respectively,after 48-hour treatment.Statistical analysis was carried out by one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis.Results The proliferation of HaCaT cells was inhibited by the treatment with acitretin,and the inhibitory effect increased with the elevation of concentration and prolongation of treatment duration of acitretin.A significant decrease was observed in the proliferative activity of HaCaT cells treated with acitretin of 10-8 mol/L for 48 hours,and when the concentration of acitretin was 10-5 mol/L,the proliferation of HaCaT cells was inhibited by 39.94％ ± 2.27％ and 49.77％ ± 1.87％ at 48 and 72 hours respectively,compared with the control cells.The HaCaT cells treated with acitretin of 10-5 mol/L for 48 hours showed a significant elevation in apoptosis rate (7.617％ ± 0.767％ vs.1.803％ ± 0.313％,P ＜ 0.05),IGFBP7 protein and mRNA expressions (0.939 ± 0.040 vs.0.436 ± 0.013,0.872 ± 0.079 vs.0.190 ± 0.056,both P ＜ 0.05),but a significant reduction in VEGF protein and mRNA expressions (0.213 ± 0.032 vs.0.798 ± 0.036,0.274 ± 0.041 vs.0.933 ± 0.054,both P ＜ 0.05) in comparison to the control cells.Conclusions Acitretin can induce the apoptosis of HaCaT cells,and up-regulate IGFBP7 but down-regulate VEGF expressions in HaCaT cells at protein and mRNA levels.

Objective To improve the understanding of cutaneous intravascular natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (CIVNKTC). Methods Clinical data on five cases of CIVNKTC were collected. The histopathological feature, treatment and prognosis of CIVNKTC were retrospectively analyzed and discussed. Results Of the 5 patients, 1 was male and 4 were female. The age of onset ranged from 38 to 83 years (average, 56.2 years). All the patients presented with multiple plaques and nodules as the primary symptoms. Histopathological examination revealed vasodilatation in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, as well as atypical lymphoid cells with large hyperchromatic nuclei containing 1-2 small nucleoli in dilated veins. Immunohistochemical studies of tumor cells showed positive staining for CD3ε, cytotoxic proteins (including T cell-restricted intracellular antigen-1, granzyme B and perforin)and Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)-encoded microRNA, but negative staining for cytokeratin, CD20, CD79a, CD4 and CD8. Furthermore, the tumor cells stained positive for CD56 in two patients. Among the 5 patients, only 2 received chemotherapy and the remaining received no treatment. During a 24-month follow-up, 4 patients died, and only 1 survived with the tumor. Conclusion CIVNKTC is a rare extranodal Hodgkin′s lymphoma with distinct histologic manifestations and immunophenotypes, rapid and aggressive clinical course, and poor prognosis.

Guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 (GTPCH1) is a protein encoded by the GCH1 gene,which catalyze GTP to tetrahydrofolinine (BH4) under physiological condition.BH4 is a coenzyme of aromatic amino acid hydroxylase and a cofactor of nitric oxide synthases.BH4 involves in the synthesis of various hormones and neurotransmitters and plays an important role in a series of pathophysiological processes in vivo.Recent studies showed that GTPCH1 is involved in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain,doparesponsive dystonia,cancer and cardiovascular diseases.In this review,we will discuss the role of GTPCH1 in those diseases mentioned above.

Objective:To investigate clinical features of congenital triangular alopecia.Methods:Clinical data were collected from 10 children with congenital triangular alopecia, who were diagnosed and treated in Xiamen Children′s Hospital from August 2020 to June 2021, and their clinical and dermoscopic features were analyzed.Results:All the 10 patients were males, aged from 2 months to 6 years and 4 months. Hair loss occurred at birth or within 1 month after birth in 6 children, and occurred between the age of 4 months and 6 years in 4. The alopecic area was located in the left frontotemporal region in 5 patients, in the right frontotemporal region in 3, and in the vertex region in 2. In all the patients, thin vellus hair could be seen in the alopecic areas, and the hair pull test was negative, while in 1 patient showed some normal terminal hair scattered in the alopecic area. Dermoscopy showed a lot of vellus hair surrounded by normal terminal hair in the alopecic area with a clear boundary, and no yellow or black dots, or 'exclamation mark’ hair was observed. Seven patients had visited department of dermatology due to hair loss, of whom 5 were diagnosed with alopecia areata, and 2 with sebaceous nevus.Conclusions:Congenital triangular alopecia is common in children, and mostly occurs in the left frontotemporal region. It is characterized by the replacement of normal terminal hair by thin vellus hair in the alopecic area. Dermoscopy is helpful in its diagnosis and differential diagnosis.

Objective:To explore the association of -592A/C and -1082A/G single nucleotide polymorphism in interleukin (IL)-10 gene with susceptibility to serofast in patients with syphilis.Methods:The SNPs of -592A/C and -1082A/g in the promoter region of IL-10 were detected by multiple single base extension (SNaP-shot) assay in 123 patients with syphilis(syphilis group), 118 patients with seronegative syphilis (seronegative syphilis group) and 120 healthy controls (healthy control group). The clinical characteristics, genotypes and allele frequencies of different subjects were compared.Results:There was no significant difference in age and gender between syphilis group, seronegative syphilis group and healthy control group ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the number of sexual partners, initial rapid plasma reagin test for syphilis (RPR) titer, stage, and Jihai reaction between the syphilis group and seronegative syphilis group ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the genotype and allele frequency of -592A/C and -1082A/G in the promoter region of IL-10 between the syphilis group, seronegative syphilis group and the control group ( P>0.05). Conclusions:There seems to be no evidence for association between -592A/C and -1082A/G single nucleotide polymorphism in IL-10 gene and susceptibility to serofast in patients with syphilis.

Objective To analyze the correlation between herpes zoster neuralgia and the methylation status of the whole genome and GCH1 gene.Methods From June to October in 2017,patients with confirmed herpes zoster and obvious neuralgia were selected in Department of Dermatology,The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University,who achieved complete remission (no effect was observed on normal sleep) of neuralgia after antiviral and neurotrophic treatment.Finally,36 patients and 36 healthy controls were enrolled into this study.Peripheral blood samples were obtained from the healthy controls and patients before and after the treatment.Dot-blot hybridization assay was performed to determine the methylation status of the whole genome,methylated-DNA IP kit was used to enrich the methylation sites of the GCH1 gene,and real-time quantitative PCR was conducted to detect changes in methylation status of the GCH1 gene.Statistical analysis was carried out with GraphPad Prism v7.00 software by using paired t test for the comparison of methylation status before and after the treatment,and two-sample t test for the comparison between the patient group and control group.Results The relative methylation level of the whole genome was 135.94 ± 2.52 in the patients before treatment,significantly lower than that in the patients after treatment (144.76 ± 3.48,t =2.056,P ＜ 0.05) and healthy control group (146.84 ± 3.39,t =2.580,P ＜ 0.05).However,there was no significant difference in the methylation status of the whole genome between the patients after treatment and healthy controls (t =0.429,P ＞ 0.05).Compared with the patients after treatment (0.89 ± 0.13) and healthy control group (0.97 ± 0.07),the methylation status of the GCH1 gene significantly decreased in the patients before treatment (0.65 ± 0.17;t =3.977,4.648 respectively,P ＜ 0.05,＜ 0.01 respectively),while no significant difference between the patients after treatment and the healthy controls (t =0.506,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The methylation status of the whole genome and GCH 1 gene markedly decreased in the patients with herpes zoster neuralgia.

Objective: To explore the relationships of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) with severity of skin lesions in children with psoriasis and peripheral neutrophil count, and to evaluate in vitro effect of NGAL on expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-22 (IL-22) by a human immortalized keratinocyte cell line HaCaT. Methods: From January 1st 2017 to December 31st 2018, 98 children who newly developed psoriasis were enrolled from Department of Dermatology of 6 hospitals in China, including 51 males and 47 females. Their age was 7.00 ± 2.99 years (range: 3-14 years) , and their course of disease was 7.4 ± 5.85 days (range: 3-28 days) . The serum level of NGAL was detected in all the patients before and two weeks after treatment, and the relationships of NGAL with psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores and peripheral neutrophil count were evaluated. Western blot analysis and reverse-transcription (RT) -PCR were performed to determine the protein and mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-22 in HaCaT cells, respectively, after 12-hour treatment with NGAL at concentrations of 0 (control group) , 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 mg/L. Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS 16 software. by using t test and one-way analysis of variance. Results: After 2-week treatment, the PASI score, neutrophil count and NGAL level in children with psoriasis significantly decreased (1.80 ± 1.19, [6.16 ± 0.76] × 10⁹/L, 90.86 ± 0.75 μg/L, respectively) compared with those before the treatment (10.38 ± 3.42, [11.01 ± 2.85] × 10⁹/L, 113.48 ± 21.26 μg/L, respectively; t = 31.42, 18.34, 16.37 respectively, all P < 0.001) . Before the treatment, the serum level of NGAL in the patients was positively correlated with the PASI score and peripheral neutrophil count (r = 0.918, 0.799 respectively, both P < 0.05) . The mRNA and protein expression of IL-22 in HaCaT cells significantly differed among these groups treated with different concentrations of NGAL (F = 176.31, 296.96 respectively, both P < 0.001) , so did the mRNA and protein expression of TNF-α (F = 193.28, 318.80 respectively, both P < 0.001) . Additionally, the protein and mRNA expression of IL-22 and TNF-α in HaCaT cells was significantly higher in the 0.125-, 0.25-, 0.5- and 1-mg/L NGAL group than in the control group (all P < 0.05) . The NGAL level was positively correlated with the protein and mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-22 in HaCaT cells (all P < 0.05) . Conclusions The serum level of NGAL was high in children with psoriasis, and positively correlated with severity of skin lesions and peripheral neutrophil count. NGAL can upregulate the expression of TNF-α and IL-22 in HaCaT cells in vitro.