A tünetmentes pikkelysömörös bőr pathológiás elváltozásainak szerepe a betegség fenotípusának megjelenésében = The contribution of inherent abnormalities of non-lesional skin to disease phenotype in psoriasis

Az elvégzett kutatás alapkutatás, amely jelentős része klinikai jellegű, a pikkelysömör bőrbetegség pathomechanizmusának megértését célozza, ezáltal terápiás célpontokat jelöl ki a betegség gyógyításában. Közvetlen hasznosítás az elmúlt 4 évben nem történt, de ez nem is volt kitűzött cél, azonban a betegség kialakulásával kapcsolatban számos új adatot szolgáltattunk, melyeknek egy része szakmánk vezető folyóirataiban publikációra is került. Az utóbbi év eredményei új távlatokat nyitottak további kutatásaink célkitűzéseihez. A pályázatban vázolt munkáktól, csak annyiban tértünk el, amennyiben bizonyos eredmények más területen való hasznosítása értelemszerűen kívánkozott, valamint amennyiben kutatásunk eredményei új, fontosnak ítélhető megválaszolandó kérdéseket tettek fel. A munka eddig megjelent dolgozatai mellett 2 cikk közvetlen benyújtás előtt, kettő pedig az írás fázisában van. 1 hallgató a pályázat ideje alatt ebből a munkából írt és szerzett PhD fokozatot, jelenleg 2 hallgató PhD-ja készül részben az itt elvégzett munkákat is tartalmazva. | Within the project we carried out basic research toward the understanding of psoriasis pathomechanisms. Our research carries the possibility of new therapies in this common skin disease. We have made considerable progress in understanding key mechanisms of keratinocyte hyperproliferation, the major cutaneous characteristic of this skin disease. Our research work went according to the proposed plan, minor changes were made as required by experimental data. Some of the results have already been published in leading journals of our field, we are about to submit two papers and two is in the process of writing. One PhD student who worked on the project has successfully defended her thesis and two are presently working on their theses

Histidine Decarboxylase Expression in Human Melanoma

SummaryHistamine has been implicated as one of the mediators involved in regulation of proliferation in both normal and neoplastic tissues. Histidine decarboxylase, the only enzyme that catalyzes the formation of histamine from L-histidine, is an essential regulator of histamine levels. In this study, we investigated the gene and protein expression of histidine decarboxylase in melanoma. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization studies of WM-35, WM-983/B, HT-168, and M1 human melanoma cell lines both resulted in positive signals for histidine decarboxylase messenger RNA. A polyclonal chicken antibody was developed against human histidine decarboxylase and protein expression was confirmed by western blot analysis of the cell lysates, revealing a predominant immunoreactive band at approximately 54 kDa corresponding to monomeric histidine decarboxylase. Protein expression of histidine decarboxylase was also shown by flow cytometric analysis and strong punctate cytoplasmic staining of melanoma cell lines. Moreover, both primary and metastatic human melanoma tissues were brightly stained for histidine decarboxylase. When compared with the very weak or no reactions on cultivated human melanocytes both western blot and immunohistochemical studies showed much stronger histidine decarboxylase expression in melanoma cells. These findings suggest that expression of histidine decarboxylase is elevated in human melanoma

In Vitro Dedifferentiation of Melanocytes from Adult Epidermis

In previous work we described a novel culture technique using a cholera toxin and PMA-free medium (Mel-mix) for obtaining pure melanocyte cultures from human adult epidermis. In Mel-mix medium the cultured melanocytes are bipolar, unpigmented and highly proliferative. Further characterization of the cultured melanocytes revealed the disappearance of c-Kit and TRP-1 and induction of nestin expression, indicating that melanocytes dedifferentiated in this in vitro culture. Cholera toxin and PMA were able to induce c-Kit and TRP-1 protein expressions in the cells, reversing dedifferentiation. TRP-1 mRNA expression was induced in dedifferentiated melanocytes by UV-B irradiated keratinocyte supernatants, however direct UV-B irradiation of the cells resulted in further decrease of TRP-1 mRNA expression. These dedifferentiated, easily accessible cultured melanocytes provide a good model for studying melanocyte differentiation and possibly transdifferentiation. Because melanocytes in Mel-mix medium can be cultured with human serum as the only supplement, this culture system is also suitable for autologous cell transplantation

The altered expression of syndecan 4 in the uninvolved skin of venous leg ulcer patients may predispose to venous leg ulcer

Syndecan 4 (SDC4), a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, and neuropilin 1 (NRP1), a transmembrane receptor, are both involved in normal wound healing, but little is known about their possible role in venous leg ulcer pathogenesis. We aimed to investigate whether there are any expression abnormalities and/or gene polymorphisms of SDC4 and NRP1 associated with venous leg ulcer. SDC4 showed significantly lower mRNA and protein expression in the uninvolved dermis of venous leg ulcer patients (n=15) compared with controls (n=15; p=0.0136), while NRP1 showed no expression abnormalities. None of the examined SDC4 and NRP1 polymorphisms showed a difference in their allelic distribution between leg ulcer patients (n=92) and controls (n=92). We hypothesize that SDC4 may play an essential role not only in the inflammation and tissue formation phases of normal wound healing, but its expression abnormalities observed in the uninvolved dermis of venous leg ulcer patients may contribute to venous leg ulcer development