BACKGROUND: The effects of melanocyte stimulating hormone(MSH) on the integument of many species, including mammals, are well known. The significance of MSH as a physiological regulator of cutaneous pigmentation in humans is still controversial. Although the administration of MSH results in skin darkening, previous reports suggest that cultured human melanocytes are relatively unresponsive to this peptide. This may be related to the conditions under which the melanocytes were cultured. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of alpha-MSH on the morphological changes, survival, and melanization of cultured human melanocytes in a basal medium without any mitogen. METHOD: We examined the morphological changes, number and melanin contents of cultured human melanocytes in control(absence of alpha-MSH) and experimental groups(presence of 10(-8) M, 10(-7) M, and 10(-6) M alpha-MSH). RESULTS: 1. There were no significant morphological changes of cells between the control and experimental groups after 24, 48, and 72 hours' culture. The number and length of melanocyte dendrites showed no significant difference between the groups after 24, 48, and 72 hours' culture. 2. The number of melanocytes in the experimental groups(presence of 10(-7) M, and 10(-6) M alpha-MSH) were significantly higher than the number of melanocytes in control group after 72 hours culture(p<0.05). This effect of alpha-MSH was dose-related. 3. The melanin contents slightly increased in the experimental groups. The significant difference between the groups was showed in the presence of 10(-8) M alpha-MSH. CONCLUSIONS: alpha-MSH has no effect on the morphology, but increases the survival of cultured human melanocytes and has a melanogenic effect.
alpha-MSH* ; Dendrites ; Humans* ; Mammals ; Melanins ; Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones ; Melanocytes* ; Pigmentation ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Skin color is determined by many factors including melanin and nonmelanin pigments like hemoglobin and extraneous chemicals. Various factors such as race, sex, and age have been reported to have an influence on skin color. METHODS: Measurement of malanin index (M-index) was made by reflectance spectropho-tometer at three different sites including forehead, abdomen and forearm in total 800 healthy subjects consisting of 100 males and 100 females of neonates (three days after birth) and children (male:8.08±0.84, female:8.03±0.80, total :8.06±0.82 years of age), ado-lescence (mate:13.89± 0.76, female:13.96±0.79, total:13.93±0.78 years of age), and adults(male:24.26±0.82, female:24.40±0.89, total:24.33±0.86 years of age). We also investigated the change of M-index by each skin phototype of college students determined by Fitzpatrick classification. RESULTS: From the birth to the puberty, sex difference of melanin index was generally not not-ed, but adult females showed lower levels of melanin index in all sites measured. M-index in-creased from birth to adolescence, and decreased after adulthood. Forehead showed highest melanin index compared with other sites. Increase of M-index was noted as skin phototype goes from III to V. CONCLUSIONS: Factors including sex, age, body sites and skin phototype have a significant in-fluence on the changes of skin color in humans.
Abdomen ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Classification ; Continental Population Groups ; Female ; Forearm ; Forehead ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Melanins* ; Parturition ; Puberty ; Sex Characteristics ; Skin*

BACKGROUND: Each kind of human cell has its own characteristic morphological and functional property. In the skin, epidermal cells, including keratinocyte and melanocyte, also have their own functional characteristics. Thus, it is expected that there are some different responses to external stimuli, such as ionizing radiatio,, free radicals, and cytokines between these cells. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To im estigate whether there are different effects of UV light on the viability of cultured human ker tinocytes and rnelanocytes. Cultured human keratinocytes and melanocytes are irradiated by UVB at 5, 25, 50, and 100mJ/cm, and examined by Methylthiazole tetrazollium assay at 0, 1, 3, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after UVB exposure. RESULTS: 1. The effects on viability according to the doses of UVB are as follows: 1) In the keratinocytes, the viability was increased in most of the UVB exposure groups within 24 hours after UVB exposure, and was significantly increased at 25, 50, and 100mJ/cm of UVB at 3 hours after UVB exposur.(p<0.05). However, the viability was significantly decreased at relatively high doses of UVB (50, 100mJ/cm) from 48 hours after UVB exposure (p<0.05). 2) In the melanocytes, the viability was decreased in all of the UVB exposure groups within 3 hours, and was significantly decreased in all of the UVB exposure groups at, 1 hour after UVB exposure (p<0.05). The viability was increased from 6 to 24 hours, which was significantly decreased at 100mJ/cm of UVB from 48 hours after UVB exposure (p<0.05). 2. The effects on viability according to the time after UVB exposure at the same dose of UUB In both cells, the viability was increased as time went by. The slopes of the viability curve gradually decreased according to the increment of UVB doses. CONCLUSION: The viability of keratinocyte was decreased at 50mJ/cm of UVB which melanocyte did not show decrease. Melanocyte was more easily damaged than keratinocyte in relatively earlier time period after UVB exposure. These results suggest that the change of viability in cultured keratinocyte and melanocyte after UVB exposure at the dose of less than 100mJ/cm is related to the time course after UVB exposure as well as to the UVB dose.
Cytokines ; Free Radicals ; Humans* ; Keratinocytes* ; Melanocytes* ; Skin ; Ultraviolet Rays

BACKGROUND: The influencion the environment on a culture is expressed via four routes. (1) the nature of the substrate or phase on or in which the cells grow (2) the physicochemical and physiological constitution of the medium, (3) the constitution of the gas phase, and (4) the incubation temperature. Melanization is closely related to the constitution and amounts of amino acids in the medium. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate whether there are some differences of proliferation and melanization in cultured B,F, mouse melanoma cells according to different culture media. METHODS: We examined the color of cell pellet, cell morphology, electron microscopic findings, cell counts and melanin conlensin BgF mouse melanoma cells cultured in Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium(DMEM), F-10, MCDB 153, Minimal essential medium(MEM), and RPMI 1640, respectively. RESULTS: 1. The color of cell pellet., ringed from dark gray to light brown. The order of the darkness was DMEM, MEM, RPMI 1640, MCDB 153, and F-10 medium. 2. Most Bg, mouse melanoma cells had an epithelioid morphology, but a few cells in MCDB 153 medium showed dendrites. On the 4th day after culture, the cells in F-10 medium were larger than those in the other media. 3. In the electron microscopic. findings, BF, mouse melanoma cells in DMEM and MEM con tained numerous stage IV nelanosomes, however, those in RPMI 1640 and MCDB 153 medium contained a few, and those in F-10 medium did few. 4. The number of BF, mouse melanoma cells were 1.42 + 0.06 x 10", 1.42 + 0.12 x 10", l. 17 + 0.08 x 10, 0.73 0.06 x 10, 0.32 0.01 x 10, in RPMI 1640, DMEM, MEM, F 10, and MCDB 153 medium, respectively. 5. In the MTT assay, the order of the optical density of B,F, mouse melanoma cells in various media was as followings, DMEM, RPMI 1640, MEM, F-10, and MCDB 153. 6. Compared with the melanin contents of B;F, mouse melanoma cells in DMEM, they were 77.97% in MEM, 67.91% in RPMI 1640 and MCDB 153 medium, and 55.94% in F-10 medium. CONCLUSION: The phenotypic changes of BF, mouse melanoma cells were induced by various culture rnedia and were reversilvle. Since the phenotypes of cells can be changed by the culture media, researchers should choose the appropriate culture medium for the cells.
Amino Acids ; Animals ; Cell Count ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Culture Media ; Darkness ; Dendrites ; Eagles ; Melanins ; Melanoma* ; Mice* ; Phenotype

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a benign, uncommon disorder of unknown etiology, that usunlly appears as papules or nodules on the head and neck. Histopathologically, ALHE is a angioproliferating lesion which shows characteristically plump epithelioid or histiocytoid endothelial cells, accompanied by an inflammatory infiltrate that mainly consists of lymphocytes and eosinophils. We report a case of angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophila associated with arteriovenous malformations in a 23-year-old man. In our patient, we observed arteriovenous malformation, changes which could have occurred by vascular repair due to a vascular malformation.
Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Endothelial Cells ; Eosinophils ; Head ; Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Lymphocytes ; Neck ; Vascular Malformations ; Young Adult

Vitiligo is an acquired systemic disease of the skin characterized by circumscribed patches of complete pigment loss due to destruction of melanocytes. A 28-year old male patient presented with generalized depigmented patchs. We performed microscopic studies of cultured melanocytes from this patient and compared them with those of normal neonatal foreskin. Phase contrast microscopic findings revealed no difference between the two groups of melanocytes, but transmission electron microscopic findings showed dilated circular rough endoplasmic reticulum in cultured melanocytes from our vitiligo patient. We could observe the innate cellular structural aberration of melanocytes from the vitiligo subject.
Adult ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Foreskin ; Humans* ; Male ; Melanocytes* ; Skin ; Vitiligo*

Afloqualone is a centrally acting muscle relaxant and has been used in therapy for musculotensive diseases. A 35-year-old female had been taking afloqulaone for a left hemifacial spasm for one month. The patient visited our hospital with erythematous papules and patches on the sun exposed area. A photopatch test with afloqualone ointment with the concentration of 0.1%, 1%, 5% turned out negative. An oral provocation test was also done and it showed a positive result with a decrease of MED to UVA (10 J/cm²).
Adult ; Dermatitis, Phototoxic* ; Female ; Hemifacial Spasm ; Humans ; Solar System

The frequency of metastasis to the skin from lung cancer is 1-12%. The incidence of cutaneous metastasis was high in patients with large-cell lung cancer, whereas squamous cell and small-cell lung cancer showed the least tendency to extend to cutaneous sites. Adenocarcinoma was intermediate in the tendency to metastasize in the skin. Histological findings of small-cell lung cancer show solid, tumor cell nests composed of neoplastic cells with large, round nuclei. So, it is often difficult to distinguish small-cell lung cancer from other poorly differentiated small-cell tumors, such as Merkel cell carcinoma, metastatic carcinoid, lymphoma, etc. We report here two cases of skin metastasis from small-cell lung cancer. Case one was a 74-year-old man presenting with a single, round, dome-shaped nodule on the alar nasi which had been present for 1 month. The second case was a 73-year-old man who had found three, non-tender, freely movable subcutaneous nodules on the abdomen 3 days before. Both cases were diagnosed as small-cell lung cancer. On histopathological examination of the skin lesions, we could observe that small round to oval cells with dark staining nuclei and scant cytoplasms were arranged in anastomosing trabecular streams through the dermis, separated by strands of connective tissue in both cases. In the first case, the tumor cells were positive to cytokeratin and NSE, negative to neurofilament antiagen and LCA.
Abdomen ; Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Carcinoid Tumor ; Carcinoma, Merkel Cell ; Connective Tissue ; Cytoplasm ; Dermis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Keratins ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymphoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Rivers ; Skin ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma*

Occasionally, patients with gastrointestinal Crohn's disease (CD) develop granulomatous skin lesions at sites remote from the gastrointestinal tract, separated from other ulcerations by normal skin, a phenomenon that has been referred to as metastatic cutaneous CD. Although metastatic CD of the vulval region has been often reported in English literature, we could not find such cases with family history. We report a case of vulval CD occurring in siblings.
Crohn Disease* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Siblings* ; Skin ; Ulcer ; Vulva*

The cutaneous metastasis of pancreatic carcinoma by this technique is rarely reported in the literature. A 67-year-old woman was evaluated for left-sided abdominal pain and a palpable abdominal mass. Abdominal CT confirmed the presence of a solid mass involving the pancreas. Ultrasonically guided percutaneous aspiration biopsy was performed. About six month later, the patient was readmitted with a tender tumor mass at the site of the previous aspiration biopsy. Physical examination disclosed a 4 × 4 cm sized firm, tender tumor mass on the abdomen. Histopathological findings of the tumor mass are consistent with metasta tic lesions from a pancreatic carcinoma. We report a case that suggests cutaneous metastsis of pancreatic carcinoma by fine needle aspiration biopsy.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Pain ; Aged ; Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Biopsy, Needle ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pancreas ; Physical Examination ; Tics ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed