Objective To investigate the role of mutated BRAFV599E gene in the growth of malignant melanoma cells. Methods In the previous study, plasmids containing small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs), braf1 and braf2 specific for mutated BRAFV599E gene, were designed and used to transfect A375 cells to inhibit the expression of BRAF gene in these cells. In this study, four kinds of A375 cells, including Abraf1 (transfect ed with braf1), Abraf2 (transfected with braf2), Aneg (transfected with negative plasmid) and A375 (untransfected) cells, were chosen and cultured in 96-well plate. MTT assay, plate clone forming assay, flow cytometry were applied to test the growth, clone formation, cell cycle and apoptosis of these cells respectively. Results Compared with A375 and Aneg cells, inhibited proliferation (F=25.48, P<0.001) and clone-forming rate (F=90.06, P<0.001) were observed in Abraf1 and Abraf2 cells; furthermore, flow cytometry showed a decrease in S-phase population(F=147.87, P<0.001) but an increase in G1-phase population (F=9.14, P<0.05)in Abraf1 and Abraf2 cells. However, neither Abrafl nor Abraf2 cells exhibited a significant increase in apoptosis ratio (F=2.27, P>0.05). Conclusions Mutated BRAFV599E gene could induce the switch from G1 phase to S phase in melanoma cells, subsequently accelerate the growth of melanoma cells, but it has no obvious influence on the apoptosis of these cells.

Objective To investigate the clinicopathologic features and differential diagnosis ofacroangiodermatitis (AM).Methods Clinical and pathological data on 12 patients with AM were retrospectively reviewed.Results Clinical manifestations of AM consisted of circumscribed brown to violaeeous macules,plaques,nodules and ulceration.Lesions were located in bilateral legs in 6 patients,and in unilateral legs in the other 6 patients.Histopathological examination revealed an increased number of lobular or clump-shaped capillaries and small veins whose lumens were round and regular,swelling of vascular endothelial cells,and different degrees of erythrocyte extravasation,hemosiderin deposition,dermal fibrosis and sparse infiltrates of inflammatory cells.The lesions were histologically located in the superficial dermis in 3 cases,in the upper and middle dermis in 8 cases,and in the entire dermis in 1 case.Immunohistochemical studies showed that vascular endothelial cells stained positive for CD31 and CD34,while perivascular cells stained negative for CD34.Conclusions AM has specific clinical and pathological manifestations,and pathological examination is essential for the diagnosis of AM.

A 36-year-old woman presented with a 3-year history of pruritic erythema and scaling on the trunk and extremities.Dermatological examination revealed ill-defined light pink macules with white lamellar scales on the chest,abdomen and buttocks.Histologically,there was a focal mononuclear cell infiltrate in the superficial dermis,with the epidermotropism of some cells and mild atypia of epidermotropic cells,as well as an interstitial mononuclear cell infiltrate and mild deposition of mucin between the collagen fibers in the middle dermis.CD3 and CD4 were expressed by scattered mononuclear cells infiltrating the upper and middle dermis.Based on these data,the patient was diagnosed with interstitial granuloma fungoides.

A case of benign follicular neoplasm-trichogerminoma-is reported.A 48-year-old man presented with a 10-year history of asymptomatic subcutaneous nodule in the chest.Histological examination revealed a well-circumscribed lesion composed of variously sized lobuli and cysts in the deep dermis and separated from the surrounding tissue by a fibrous capsule.Most lobuli consisted of concentrically arranged clear cells in the central area and basophilic cells in a palisade arrangement in the peripheral area.The tumor cells displayed a multi-directional differentiation toward hair bulb,inner root sheath,outer root sheath and infundibulum of hair follicles.Immunohistochemically,the tumor cells expressed AE1/AE3,CK5/6 and CK17,but were negative for CK20 or CK7.There was a sharp contrast in immunohistochemical findings between the central clear cells and peripheral basophilic cells.Based on the histological and immunohistochemical features,a diagnosis of trichogerminoma was made.

Objective To study the inhibitory effects of siRNA targeting survivin on the expression of survivin,as well as the apoptosis,proliferation and invasion of a human melanoma cell line,M14.Methods Two siRNAs targeting survivin were designed,chemically synthesized,and used to construct the recombinant plasmids,pRAT-H1.1/neo-survivin-siRNA1 and pRNAT-H1.1/neo-survivin-siRNA2.Then,recombinant plasmids were transfected into M14 cells mediated by Lipofectamine 2000 reagent.Those cells untransfected or transfected with empty vector served as the control.After culture over various periods of time.cells were collected for the detection of mRNA and protein expression of survivin with RT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively,and for the examination of apoptosis and proliferation of M14 cells by flow cytometry and MTT methods,respectively.Also,Transwell assay was performed to detect the invasive capability of M14 cells.Results A statistical decrease in the mRNA and protein expressions of survivin was observed along with an increase in apoptotic rate(x2=31.55,P＜0.01)in M14 cells transfectcd with siRNA-containing plasmid compared with untransfected and empty vector-transfected cells.As MTT assay indicated,on day 4 after the transfcorion,the proliferation of M14 cells was inhibited by(55.4±4.3)%,(34.5±4.3)%and(13.3±4.6)%,with pRNAT-H1.1/neo-survivin-siRNA1,pRNAT-H1.1/neo-survivin-siRNA2 and empty vector,respectively:there was a significant difference among the three groups(P＜0.05).Decreased invasive capability was noticed in M14 cells transfected with siRNA-containing plasmid compared with untransfected cells(all P＜0.05).Conclusions The plasmid containing siRNA against survivin can specifically inhibit the expression of sarvivin,proliferation and invasion of tumor cells,and induce cell apoptosis.The inhibition of survivin expression by siRNA may be a rational approach to the gene therapy for malignant melanoma.

Objectives To synthesize human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)- and human tolemerase RNA (hTR)- small interfering RNA (siRNA) and investigate their effects on telomerase activity in the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cell line Hut78. Methods Two types of hTERT- and hTR- siRNAs were synthesized with T7 RNA polymerase via in vitro transcription, then either mixed with Hut78 cell lysates directly or transfected into Hut78 cells by calcium phosphate co-precipitation. Telomerase activity was tested by telomeric repeat amplification and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Results With T7 RNA polymerase, hTERT- and hTR- siRNAs were synthesized efficiently with a concentration of 22.4?g siRNA per 40?L siRNA reaction mix. Telomerase activity was suppressed significantly by either of the siRNAs. The inhibition rate was 87% in the cell lysate group treated with siRNA directly, and 75% in the cell group Iransfected with siRNA. Conclusions The in vitro transcription of siRNA with T7 RNA polymerase is technically simple, costeffective, and can produce siRNA in an efficient way. hTERT- and hTR-siRNA can down-regulate telomerase activity significantly in Hut78 cells.

Objective To investigate the expression of HINT1 mRNA in the tissue of malignant melanoma and nevocellular nevus. Methods Half-quantitative RT-PCR was used to measure the expression of HINT1/PKCI-1 mRNA in fresh and archival tissues of 25 patients with malignant melanoma and 25 patients with nevus. Results In the case of the same specimen, the expression of HINT/PKCI-1 mRNA showed no difference in the tissue treated with formalin fixation and paraffin embedment with that in the fresh tissue. The expression level of HINT/PKCI1 mRNA was 0.49 ? 0.04 in nevus and 0.31 ? 0.07 in malignant melanoma, and the difference was significant (P

Objective To construct the short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-expressing plasmid vectors specific for BRAF gene, and to test their effects in BRAF knockdown in human melanoma cell lines. Methods Two pairs of specific BRAF shRNA oligoes and a pair of randomly synthesized non-specific shRNA oligo were synthesized and inserted into plasmid pGenesil-1. Their fidelity was confirmed by double endonuclease digestion and sequencing. The constructed plasmids were transfected into human melanoma cell lines A375 and M14. The expression of BRAF mRNA and BRAF protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Results The designed shRNA oligoes were precisely cloned into the plasmid pGenesil-1. The expression of BRAF mRNA and protein were down-regulated by specific plasmid braf 1 and braf 2, except to non-specific plasmid neg. The plasmid braf 1 was more effective, reducing BRAF gene expression by 90 per cent. Conclusions Plasmid mediated shRNA could successfully knockdown BRAF expression in human melanoma cells, and the suppression of the gene expression could maintain for 1 month at least.

Objective To estimate the diagnostic value of interstitial infiltration pattern for early morphea.Methods Twenty-five cases of early morphea pathologically characterized by interstitial infiltration of inflammatory cells were collected from 2010 to 2012.The clinicopathological features of these cases were retrospectively analyzed.Results The average clinical course was 7.5 months.The primary manifestation was edematous dark erythematous plaques,and interstitial or mixed infiltrate of inflammatory cells was the characteristic histopathological presentation.After anti-inflammatory treatment,lesions markedly improved or disappeared in 70％ of these patients.Conclusions Interstitial infiltration of inflammatory cells is a rare histologic pattern in early morphea.To learn and recognize this pattern may be beneficial to the diagnosis and treatment of early morphea.

Objective To investigate the expression of microRNA let-7a in formalin-fixed paraffinembedded (FFPE) melanoma tissue and its effect on the proliferation of A375 cell lines. Methods Tissue samples were obtained from 13 patients with malignant melanoma and 10 with congenital pigmented nevus,then fixed with formalin and embeded with paraffin. microRNAs were isolated from these samples and reversely transcripted to cDNA with stem-loop primer. Then, real time quantitative PGR was performed with Taqman MGB probe and matched primers to measure the expression of microRNA let-7a. cy3-Labeled negative control siRNA was transfected into A375 cells followed by the examination of transfection efficiency under fluorescense microscopy. Subsequently, hsa-let-7a mimics were transfected into A375 cells to observe their effect on the proliferation of these cells. Results microRNAs were successfully isolated from FFPE tissues, and quantitative PGR showed a significant reduction in the expression of microRNA let-7a in melanoma tissue compared with nevus tissue (t = 2.364, P ＜ 0.05). The transfection efficiency was found to be about 80% ～90%. After transfection with hsa-let-7a mimics, the proliferation of A375 cells was inhibited and the inhibition rate amounted to 32.7% at 24 hours. Conclusions The expression of microRNA-let-7a is attenuated in melanoma, and overexpression of let-7a can inhibit the proliferation of A375 cells, which implies that let-7a functions as a tumor suppressor gene in melanoma.