Cutaneous nociception: Role of keratinocytes

Recent years have brought an enhanced understanding of keratinocyte contribution to cutaneous nociception. While intra‐epidermal nerve endings were classically considered as the exclusive transducers of cutaneous noxious stimuli, it has now been demonstrated that epidermal keratinocytes can initiate nociceptive responses, like Merkel cells do for the innocuous mechanotransduction. In the light of recent in vivo findings, this article outlines this paradigm shift that points to a not yet considered population of sensory epidermal cells.     

KGF在乳腺癌的表达与临床意义

目的:探讨KGF蛋白在人乳腺癌的表达与意义,与临床病理因素及生物学指标的相关性。方法: 采用免疫组化方法检测KGF在63例乳腺癌组织中的表达,并与正常乳腺组织对照。结果:63例乳腺癌组织中34例肿瘤细胞表达KGF(54．0％),正常乳腺上皮细胞未表达(P<0．01),在乳腺癌间质细胞和正常乳腺组织间质细胞表达率分别为34．9％和16．7％(P>0.05)。其在肿瘤细胞中的表达与低分化相关,与ER、PR呈负相关,与Ki-67呈正相关,与Ki-67的协同表达与淋巴结转移正相关。结论: KGF在乳腺癌肿瘤细胞的表达可能促进乳腺癌的发生发展,并且与低分化、预后不良有关。     

人血浆作为真皮支架对自体皮肤增殖的影响：组织学和免疫组织化学试验●☆

背景：组织工程是一个多学科研究的交叉学科，其目标是使人体损伤的组织和器官再生，通过这种假设，几乎所有的动物组织都可以在实验室进行培养。一般的方法是从需要移植的患者身上提取干细胞，在一定的支持条件下允许其生长、增殖、生产为可替换的组织。另一方面，寻找细胞能够互相联结并形成分层结构的合适的支持条件，如基质或支架等非常必要。目前用于烧烫伤治疗的材料有很多种，如胶原，透明质酸、纤维蛋白和聚乳酸及其共聚物。 目的：讨论以新型的生物材料自体血浆为支架对自体成纤维细胞和角质化细胞生长、扩张、增殖的影响。 设计：建立一种真皮再生的方法，将自体成纤维细胞浸于人血浆基质中，排除各种影响样本安全性和排斥反应的问题，应用同样的方法在新的真皮上获取角质化细胞。 时间及地点：实验于2008年在意大利曼多瓦C. Poma医院动物工厂完成。 材料：人角质化细胞和成纤维细胞取自1例58岁乳房切除患者的皮肤碎片。实验得到C. Poma医院独立伦理委员会批准，患者知情同意。 方法：从自体活组织皮肤样本中分离人角质化细胞和成纤维细胞，置于培养瓶中增殖，随后将自体血浆作为皮肤移植形成构造的支架，免疫和免疫组织化学特征显示与正常皮肤相似。 主要观察指标：将血浆样本用甲醛固定，埋入石蜡，苏木精-伊红染色，用显微镜进行细胞计数。所有样本均经免疫组织化学评估。 结果：在血浆基质上获得了多层规则形状的角质化细胞和成纤维细胞，基底膜的形成说明自体血浆是角质化细胞和成纤维细胞的生长、分化、扩展的良好支架，真皮和表皮细胞联结重建皮肤移植与正常皮肤无异。 结论：血浆作为角质化细胞和成纤维细胞分化、扩展的支架表现出良好的性能，同时实验还特别发现成纤维细胞浓缩血浆可以暂时替代皮肤，也是角质化细胞生长的强有力的支架。此外血浆还具有廉价，易于制备等优点。自体角质化细胞和成纤维细胞及自体血浆的应用，可以避免血种类型的免疫排斥反应。这种治疗方法给有慢性缺损并且需要连续移植的患者带来了希望。 doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-8225.2009.47.001     

Role of the vitamin D3 pathway in healthy and diseased skin – facts, contradictions and hypotheses

Abstract: Irradiation of human keratinocytes with UVB (280–320 nm) in vitro and in vivo activates the metabolism of 7‐dehydrocholesterol to hormonally active calcitriol. The production of calcitriol in the skin strongly depends on the photosynthesis of vitamin D₃ which is biologically inactive in the first instance. Vitamin D₃ serves as the starting substrate for two subsequent enzymatic hydroxylation steps in epidermal keratinocytes. Both the amount of vitamin D₃ and the activity of anabolic and catabolic vitamin D hydroxylases determine the cutaneous level of calcitriol. The hormonally active metabolite of vitamin D₃ regulates a huge number of genes in keratinocytes, and thus acts in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner. This local pathway of vitamin D₃ is unique, but its relevance for healthy and diseased skin is widely unknown, yet. Experimental findings implicate several questions: ( 1 ) Is UVB‐induced formation of calcitriol involved in regulation of growth and differentaition of epidermal cells as well as immunological and skin protective processes? ( 2 ) What endogenous and exogenous factors including drugs affect the cutaneous vitamin D₃ pathway? From a therapeutical point of view, it has been known for a long time that topical application of calcitriol and its analogs can improve hyperproliferative skin diseases like psoriasis. In spite of many encouraging studies in recent years, the fields of the routinely therapeutical application of calcitriol or vitamin D analogs in dermatology (e.g. treatment of immunological, inflammatory, malignancies and infectious skin diseases) have not been intensified. Why is that?     

The immunohistology of CD40 in human oral epithelium in health and disease

BACKGROUND: CD40 has a role in the regulation of immune responses, cell proliferation and migration, and apoptosis. Little is known of its distribution in oral mucosal pathology. METHODS: Oral keratinocyte lines were tested for CD40 protein by Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was used to stain paraffin sections of oral mucosa in health and in inflammatory, reactive, dysplastic and malignant disease. RESULTS: Western blotting confirmed the presence of CD40 in oral keratinocytes. CD40 was generally expressed by keratinocytes in the basal layer, with variable parabasal expression. Langerhans cells also stained positively. Expression was lost in nine of 33 (27%) epithelial dysplasias, seven of which were severe. Eighty-one percent of well, 69% of moderately and 50% of poorly differentiated oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) expressed CD40. Overall, 45 of 65 (69%) OSCC were positive. The pattern of expression was unrelated to tumour differentiation. CONCLUSION: CD40 expression by basal and parabasal oral keratinocytes is physiological. Expression is lost in approximately one-third of oral epithelial dysplasias and OSCC. The significance of such loss remains unknown, but may be related to immunological or other abnormalities of keratinocyte homeostasis.     

Substance P induces inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and intracellular free calcium increase in cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes

Abstract Substance P is a neuropeptide which is present in peripheral C nerve endings and released from them. Free nerve endings of C nerve are present in human epidermis. The effects of substance P on the transmembrane signaling system of pig epidermal sheets were previously reported. In these studies, a small amount of cells other than keratinocytes contaminated the epidermal sheets and the species difference from human was also noticed. Therefore we investigated the effects of substance P on cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes. Alteration of intracellular free calcium (Ca²⁺) in single living keratinocytes was studied using an inverted fluorescence microscope and Ca²⁺ -sensitive dye, Fura 2-AM. Treatment of normal human epidermal kertinocytes with substance P resulted in an increase in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and in intracellular Ca²⁺. Substance P inhibited DNA synthesis of the keratinocytes in a dose-dependent manner. These results are consistent with the view that substance P stimulates phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis of human keratinocytes, resulting in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-Ca²⁺ signal.     

An in vitro study of polymorphonuclear leucocyte-mediated injury to human gingival keratinocytes by periodontopathic bacterial extracts

Human gingival keratinocytes were cultured and, after the first passage, subjected to cell detachment assays with polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) and/or sonic extracts from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4, and Eikenella corrodens 1073. The effector-to-target cell ratio was 30:1. Bacterial extracts alone caused no disruption of keratinocyte monolayers. PMNs alone also caused only minimal detachment after 14 h incubation. Adding A. actinomycetemcomitans to the PMN-keratinocyte co-cultures at the concentration of 100 μg/ml caused dramatic cell detachment. The effect of A. actinomycetemcomitans was heat labile and not inhibited by polymyxin B. Cell detachment was inhibited by α₁-antitrypsin, whereas catalase and Superoxide dismutase could not prevent it. No lysis of keratinocytes was observed after incubation, as judged by ⁵¹Cr release. E. corrodens had little effect even at the concentration of 1000 μg/ml. H₂O₂ and partially purified PMN elastase also caused detachment of keratinocytes. These data indicate that PMNs can cause non-lytic detachment of keratinocytes when interacting with certain bacteria.     

增殖性疤痕中表皮细胞增殖、血管新生与VEGF的表达

目的：研究增殖性疤痕中血管内皮细胞生长因子(VEGF)的表达，及其与疤痕表皮细胞增殖和血管新生的关系。方法：应用免疫组化和RT-PCR法，以正常皮肤、正常疤痕为对照，检测增殖性疤痕中VEGF表达，并研究VEGF与表皮细胞增殖、血管新生的相关关系。结果：增殖性疤痕内VEGF蛋白及VEGF mRNA表达明显升高，与正常疤痕、正常皮肤有显著差别。VEGF主要由疤痕表皮角朊细胞分泌，且VEGF蛋白和VEGF mRNA的表达与疤痕组织表皮细胞增殖、血管新生高度相关。结论：增殖性疤痕中VEGF蛋白和VEGF mRNA的表达与疤痕增殖密切相关。     

人皮肤角质形成细胞的分离与原代无血清培养

目的 :建立一种体外人皮肤角质形成细胞分离与原代培养的方法。方法 :采用两步消化法对皮肤进行消化 ,获取角质形成细胞进行体外无血清培养基培养 ,进行细胞形态学观察、免疫组织化学、透射电镜鉴定及生长曲线的绘制与分析。结果 :该方法可获取较多高纯度的角质形成细胞 ,且在体外可快速稳定增殖。结论 :两步消化法和体外无血清培养是一种理想的皮肤角质形成细胞分离培养的方法