Two-Color Analysis of Epidermal Cell Suspension of Mouse with Anti-DNP and Anti-Thy-1 Antibodies after Skin Painting with DNCB

The epidermal cell suspensions prepared from DNCB painted ear skin of C3H/He mice were double-stained for Thy-1 protein and DNP groups. The cells with both Thy-1 alloantigen and DNP groups in the specimen treated with anti-DNP and followed by anti-Thy-1,2 incubation were detected more frequently than the cells treated with the antibodies in the reverse order. This suggests that DNCB is coupled in vivo to the Thy-1 alloantigen on the surface of Thy-1 positive cells

Fibroblast-Lymphocyte-Macrophage Interaction in Erythema Nodosum-like Lesions of Behcet\u27s Syndrome: An Ultrastructural Study

In this study biopsy specimens of erythema nodosum-like lesions from eighteen patients with Behfet\u27s syndrome were examined with the electron microscope to elucidate the close relationship between lymphocytes and/or macrophages and fibroblasts in the perivascular regions of the dermis and subcutaneous fat accompanied by prominent edematous changes and extensive depletion of collagen fibers. Electron microscopic evaluation revealed lymphocyte emperipolesis as a special pattern of adhesion of lymphocytes to fibroblasts in 3-4 days after the onset of the skin lesions. The emperipoletic lymphocytes as well as the lymphocytes adhering to fibroblasts contained a number of polyribosomes and few organelles in the cytoplasm. The fibroblasts with these lymphocytes showed remarkable development of rough endoplasmic reticulum and any other cytoplasmic organelles, indicating activated cellular function as collagen synthesis. Adhesion of lymphocytes to fibroblasts was followed by adhesion to macrophages. In the triads of lymphocyte-fibroblast-macrophage, morphological profiles of the fibroblasts showed involutional changes suggestive of suppressed cellular function through their cytoplasmic lobulation. Our findings indicate that fibroblasts are regulated directly by adhesion of lymphocytes and/or macrophages in fibrous repair of the erythema nodosum-like lesions of Behcet\u27s syndrome

Unilateral Nevoid Telangiectasia Associated with Ipsilateral Melorheostosis

Melorheostosis is a rare disorder characterized by irregular, flowing hyperostosis in long bones, commonly described on radiographs as wax flowing down a candle. In addition to bony sclerosis, cutaneous manifestations overlying the involved bones have been reported including linear scleroderma, neurofibromatosis, and vascular and lymphatic malformations. Unilateral nevoid telangiectasia (UNT) is a rare primarily cutaneous condition characterized by linearly arranged small dilated blood vessels in dermatomal or Blaschkoid patterns on the skin. Here, we present the case of a nine-year-old Korean male with UNT associated with ipsilateral melorheostosis

Two Cases of Acute Leukopenia Induced by Colchicine with Concurrent Immunosuppressants Use in Behçet's Disease

Colchicine-induced leukopenia usually occurrs in intentional or accidental overdoses or inappropriate use in combination with intravenous and oral colchine; however, there have been several reports of hematologic toxicity in short-term and small-dose colchicine medication courses. We present two cases of leukopenia induced by colchicine use concurrent with immunosuppressants in Behçet's disease. We postulate that the mechanism of colchicine-induced leukopenia might be the destruction of circulating leukocytes and an inhibition of leukocyte production by the immediate and direct toxic effect of colchicine on idiosyncrasies unique to each patient. The concurrently administered immunosuppressant might decrease the threshold for hematologic toxicity of colchicine in the leukocytes and their precursor cells

Cutaneous Metastasis of Choriocarcinoma : A Case Report

Choriocarcinoma is one of the malignant tumors of trophoblastic cells characterized by the secretion of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) (1-3). Cutaneous metastasis is a rare presentation of choriocarcinoma but a poor prognostic sign because it is associated only with widespread disease (3-5). A 52-yr-old female complaining of dyspnea for 2 months, presented with fingertip sized erythematous nodules on the left side of the neck and the right side of the upper back of 1 month duraton. She has suffered from Behçet's disease since 1999. Microscopic examination of a nodule of upper back demonstrated biphasic pattern of cytotrophoblasts and hCG-positive syncytiotrophoblasts, and the typical histologic features of choriocarcinoma. She was referred to the gynecological oncology department. After 17 cycles of combination chemotherapy, the serum hCG level has fallen from 700,000 to under 2.0 mIU/mL and the skin lesions have almost disappeared. However, after 3 months, total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed due to elevated serum hCG level (4,447.7 mIU/mL), and she is scheduled to receive post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy

New Insights in the Clinical Understanding of Behçet's Disease

Behçet's disease is a chronic relapsing multisystemic inflammatory disorder characterized by four major symptoms (oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcers, skin lesions, and ocular lesions) and occasionally by five minor symptoms (arthritis, gastrointestinal ulcers, epididymitis, vascular lesions, and central nervous system symptoms). Although the etiology of Behçet's disease is still unknown, there have been recent advances in immunopathogenic studies, genome-wide association studies, animal models, diagnostic markers, and new biological agents. These advances have improved the clinical understanding of Behçet's disease and have enabled us to develop new treatment strategies for this intractable disease, which remains one of the leading causes of blindness

Association of TNFA Promoter Region Haplotype in Behçet's Disease

Although the etiology of Behçet's Disease (BD; MIM 109650) remains to be clearly elucidated, levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) have been reported to be significantly elevated in BD patients, and TNF-α blockers have been demonstrated to exhibit some degree of therapeutic efficacy for a certain subset of BD sufferers. In this study, we have conducted an analysis of the TNFA haplotypes in the promoter response element that affect the binding affinity of specific transcription factors, in order to characterize their association with the clinical features of BD. Six polymorphisms in the promoter region of TNFA were genotyped in 254 BD patients and 344 control subjects, via the PCR-RFLP technique. TNFA -1031*C, -863*A and -308*G alleles were associated with an increased risk of BD (p=0.030, OR=1.4; p=0.008, OR=1.5; p=0.010, OR=1.8, respectively). The sole TNFA haplotype -1031C-863A-857C-376G-308G-238G, was associated with a 1.6 fold increase in the risk of BD, whereas the TNFA haplotype -1031T-863C-857C-376G-308A-238G was associated with a 0.6 decreased risk of BD. The TNFA -1031*C, -863*A, -857*C and -308*G alleles were significantly associated with BD. The findings of this study, collectively, indicate that TNFA haplotypes in the promoter response elements may exert significant influence on susceptibility to BD