Minoxidil induces hair growth in male pattern baldness and prolongs the anagen phase. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been reported to act synergistically with minoxidil in vivo: they can enhance more dense hair regrowth than either compound alone. We evaluated the effect of minoxidil combined with ATRA on hair growth in vitro. The effect of co-treatment of minoxidil and ATRA on hair growth was studied in hair follicle organ culture. In cultured human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) and normal human epidermal keratinocytes, the expressions of Erk, Akt, Bcl-2, Bax, P53 and P21 were evaluated by immunoblot analysis. Minoxidil plus ATRA additively promoted hair growth in vitro, compared with minoxidil alone. In addition, minoxidil plus ATRA elevated phosphorylated Erk, phosphorylated Akt and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, but decreased the expressions of P53 and P21 more effectively than by minoxidil alone. Our results suggest that minoxidil plus ATRA would additively enhance hair growth by mediating dual functions: 1) the prolongation of cell survival by activating the Erk and Akt signaling pathways, and 2) the prevention of apoptosis of DPCs and epithelial cells by increasing the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and downregulating the expressions of P53 and P21.
Tretinoin/*administration & dosage ; Minoxidil/*administration & dosage ; Keratolytic Agents/administration & dosage ; Humans ; Hair/cytology/*drug effects/*growth & development ; Drug Combinations ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Cells, Cultured ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical curative effect of Chinese herbal medicine combined with acitretin capsule in treating psoriasis of blood-heat syndrome (P-BH).

METHODSEighty patients of P-BH were randomly assigned to two groups, 39 in Group A and 41 in Group B. Both was treated with Chinese herbal medicines for clearing heat, cooling blood and removing toxic substance, and acitretin capsule was given to Group A additionally, with 8 weeks as one therapeutic course. The clinical curative effect was compared between groups, and the change of psoriasis activity severe index (PASI) scores before and after treatment was observed.

RESULTSThe total effective rate in Group A was 84.2% and that in Group B 68.2%, also showing significance between groups (P<0.01). PASI score lowered significantly after treatment in both groups, showing statistical significance (P<0.01), but no significant difference between groups. Little adverse reaction was found in Group B, while in Group A, the adverse reaction was of even milder degree, which could be alleviated by adjusting the herbal medicine and symptomatic treatment administration.

CONCLUSIONSThe effect of Chinese herbal medicine combined with acitretin capsule was superior to Chinese herbal medicine alone in treating P-BH, but the adverse reaction of acitretin capsule could be alleviated by adjusting the herbs used. However, the result is waiting to be verified further by larger samples.

Acitretin ; administration & dosage ; Adult ; Aged ; Capsules ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Hematologic Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Keratolytic Agents ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Psoriasis ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mechanism of tazarotene against active psoriasis vulgaris.

METHODSA randomized, controlled trial was conducted in 43 patients with active psoriasis vulgaris, who were divided into tazarotene and control groups. Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) mRNA in active psoriatic lesions before and 14 days after tazarotene treatment was detected by in situ hybridization.

RESULTSPML mRNA expression was detected not only in the basal layer (86.96%), but also in the suprabasal layers of the epidermis in the manner of focal expression (78.26%). After tazarotene treatment, virtually no PML mRNA expression could be detected in the psoriatic lesions (8.69% in the basal layer and 4.35% in the suprabasal layers). PML mRNA expression in the control group underwent no obvious changes during the observation.

CONCLUSIONSTazarotene may inhibit abnormal proliferation of keratinocytes through down-regulating PML gene expression in active psoriatic epidermis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Double-Blind Method ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; genetics ; Epidermis ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Keratolytic Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; Nicotinic Acids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Promyelocytic Leukemia Protein ; Psoriasis ; drug therapy ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics