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Biomedical subjects

Christian Rose

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Rose.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Anti-p200 pemphigoid: a novel autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease.

Anti-p200 pemphigoid is a recently defined autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease characterized by circulating and tissue-bound autoantibodies to a 200-kDa protein (p200) of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ). This DEJ constituent is thought to be important for adhesion of basal keratinocytes to the underlying dermis. While the exact identity of p200 remains unknown, it has been demonstrated to be immunologically and biochemically distinct from all major autoantigens of the DEJ, including bullous pemphigoid antigens 180 and 230, laminin 1, 5 and 6, alpha6beta4 integrin, and type VII collagen. Clinically, most reported cases present with tense blisters as well as urticarial papules and plaques, closely resembling bullous pemphigoid. Histopathological examination of lesional skin biopsies shows subepidermal split formation and superficial inflammatory infiltrate typically dominated by neutrophils. Immunopathologically, linear deposits of immunoglobulin (Ig)G and C3 are detected along the DEJ by direct immunofluorescence microscopy of perilesional skin. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy of patients' sera on NaCl-split human skin demonstrates circulating IgG autoantibodies labeling the dermal side of the split. By immunoblotting, these autoantibodies recognize a 200-kDa protein of human dermis. Biochemical characterization of the p200 molecule revealed a noncollagenous N-glycosylated acidic protein with an isoelectric point of approximately 5.5. We present an overview of the pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of this new disease entity.

Autoantibodies↗

Towards the development of a simplified long-term organ culture method for human scalp skin and its appendages under serum-free conditions.

Organ culture of human scalp skin is usually performed with serum-containing medium, which limits its analytical usefulness. Here we report that intact human scalp skin can be grown at the air/liquid interface in supplemented, serum-free William's E medium for more than 2 weeks. Active hair shaft growth was visible until day 16 and was significantly enhanced compared with minimum essential medium (MEM) + 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Moreover, William's E medium protected better against cell death than MEM + 10% FBS before day 12. Using quantitative immunochemistry, proliferating (Ki-67+) cells could still be observed in the epithelium of hair follicles even on day 17 of serum-free skin organ culture. The number of apoptotic (TUNEL+) cells in the skin epithelium rose steadily after day 5. Giemsa stains revealed mature skin mast cells even after 13 days in culture. The percentage of surviving hair follicles (mostly with catagen- or telogen-like morphology) gradually increased over time displaying mostly catagen hair follicles after 17 days of culture. Although epidermis and hair follicle epithelium showed increasing atrophy and degeneration, and their pigmentation decreased gradually over time, some long-term-surviving epithelial islands were found in association with remnants of follicular structures as late as on day 88. These preliminary data suggest that a very simple serum-free organ culture method allows prolonged human skin and hair follicle survival as well as some limited hair follicle cycling in intact skin for more than 2 weeks under well-defined experimental conditions. This pragmatic assay invites multiple uses, and may become a valuable tool for both skin and hair research.

Aged↗

CD56-positive haematological neoplasms of the skin: a multicentre study of the Cutaneous Lymphoma Project Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous lymphomas expressing CD56, a neural cell adhesion molecule, are characterised in most cases by a highly aggressive clinical course and a poor prognosis. However, prognostic subsets within the CD56+ group have been difficult to identify due to the lack of uniform clinicopathological and immunophenotypical criteria. METHODS: A multicentre study was conducted by the Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer to define prognostic parameters and establish diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines for CD56+ haematological neoplasms presenting primarily in the skin. RESULTS: Four different subtypes of lymphoproliferations with CD56 expression were identified: (1) haematodermic neoplasm; (2) skin infiltration as the first manifestation of CD56+ acute myeloid leukaemia; (3) nasal-type extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma; and (4) "classical" cases of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) with co-expression of the CD56 molecule. Patients in the first three groups had a poor outcome (93% died) with a median survival rate of 11 months (95% CI 2-72 months), whereas all patients with CD56+ CTCL were alive at the last follow-up. CONCLUSION: Results show that CD56+ cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders, with the exception of CD56+ CTCL have a very poor prognosis. It is therefore clinically important to separate CD56+ CTCL from the remaining CD56+ haematological disorders.

Adolescent↗

Liver iron content assessment by routine and simple magnetic resonance imaging procedure in highly transfused patients.

BACKGROUND: Liver iron content (LIC) assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is validated but not standardized. In a single center, we tried to assess the accuracy of a specific, simple MRI procedure adapted to high LIC from a well-established simple and routine procedure known to quantify LIC. METHODS: In 27 cases of monthly transfused patients, we compared biochemical values of LIC assessed on liver biopsy specimens and results obtained by two signal intensity ratio of gradient echo imaging (R2*) MRI protocols. The first was Gandon's routine procedure previously validated in liver disease and the second, our own method, was an addition of a gradient echo sequence specifically adapted to high LIC encountered in hematology practice. RESULTS: Twenty-seven liver biopsies were performed in 18 adult patients (myelodysplastic syndrome = 5, beta-thalassemia = 13). LIC by biopsy ranged from 1.4 to 54 mg/g liver dry weight (mg/g dw) (median 9.4 mg/g dw). Correlation between LIC by biopsy and by MRI with Gandon's procedure was good (R = 0.80) in patients with LIC falling within the range reported by Gandon. By contrast, a weak correlation was demonstrated (R = 0.52) in patients with high LIC (above 11.2 mg/g dw). With our sequences, the correlation was good both in the entire group of patients (R = 0.83) and in patients with LIC above 11.2 mg/g dw (R = 0.85). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the addition of a specific shorter-gradient echo sequence to a very simple, fast technique produces an accurate estimation of LIC in post-transfusional iron overload.

Adolescent↗

[Anti-laminin 5 mucous membrane pemphigoid].

A 70-year-old patient presented erosions on the oral mucosa and skin, predominantly in perianal and inguinal areas. Histopathologically, subepidermal blistering was observed. By direct immunofluorescence microscopy, linear deposits of IgG and C(3) were seen at the dermal-epidermal junction. By indirect immunofluorescence microscopy, binding of IgG autoantibodies to the dermal side of NaCl-split skin was detected. These autoantibodies were shown to target both the non-processed and processed alpha(3)- as well as the beta(3)-subunit of laminin 5 by immunoblot analysis using extracellular matrix of cultured human keratinocytes. Based on these results, the diagnosis of an anti-laminin 5 mucous membrane pemphigoid was established. Oral treatment with dapsone, combined with intravenous dexamethasone pulse therapy, led to rapid improvement.

Aged↗

Mutations in human CPO gene predict clinical expression of either hepatic hereditary coproporphyria or erythropoietic harderoporphyria.

Hereditary coproporphyria (HCP), an autosomal dominant acute hepatic porphyria, results from mutations in the gene that encodes coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (CPO). HCP (heterozygous or rarely homozygous) patients present with an acute neurovisceral crisis, sometimes associated with skin lesions. Four patients (two families) have been reported with a clinically distinct variant form of HCP. In such patients, the presence of a specific mutation (K404E) on both alleles or associated with a null allele, produces a unifying syndrome in which hematological disorders predominate: 'harderoporphyria'. Here, we report the fifth case (from a third family) with harderoporphyria. In addition, we show that harderoporphyric patients exhibit iron overload secondary to dyserythropoiesis. To investigate the molecular basis of this peculiar phenotype, we first studied the secondary structure of the human CPO by a predictive method, the hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA) which allowed us to focus on a region of the enzyme. We then expressed mutant enzymes for each amino acid of the region of interest, as well as all missense mutations reported so far in HCP patients and evaluated the amount of harderoporphyrin in each mutant. Our results strongly suggest that only a few missense mutations, restricted to five amino acids encoded by exon 6, may accumulate significant amounts of harderoporphyrin: D400-K404. Moreover, all other type of mutations or missense mutations mapped elsewhere throughout the CPO gene, lead to coproporphyrin accumulation and subsequently typical HCP. Our findings, reinforced by recent crystallographic results of yeast CPO, shed new light on the genetic predisposition to HCP. It represents a first monogenic metabolic disorder where clinical expression of overt disease is dependent upon the location and type of mutation, resulting either in acute hepatic or in erythropoietic porphyria.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mucinous carcinoma of the skin, primary, and secondary: a clinicopathologic study of 63 cases with emphasis on the morphologic spectrum of primary cutaneous forms: homologies with mucinous lesions in the breast.

We present the largest series of mucinous carcinoma involving the skin, describing the histopathologic, immunohistochemical, electron microscopic, and cytogenetic findings. Our aim was fully to characterize the clinicopathologic spectrum and compare it with that seen in the breast. In addition, we wished to reevaluate the differential diagnostic criteria for distinguishing primary mucinous carcinomas from histologically similar neoplasms involving the skin secondarily, and study some aspects of their pathogenesis. We demonstrate that primary cutaneous mucinous carcinomas span a morphologic spectrum compatible to their mammary counterparts. Both pure and mixed types can be delineated morphologically, and some lesions have mucocele-like configurations. Most lesions seem to originate from in situ lesions that may represent, using mammary pathology terminology, ductal hyperplasia, atypical ductal hyperplasia, or ductal carcinoma in situ or a combination of the three. Inverse cell polarity appears to facilitate the progression of the changes similar to lesions in the breast. The presence of an in situ component defines the neoplasm as primary cutaneous, but its absence does not exclude the diagnosis; although for such neoplasms, full clinical assessment is essential. Mammary mucinous carcinoma involving the skin: all patients presented with lesions on chest wall, breast, axilla, and these locations can serve as clue to the breast origin. Microscopically, cutaneous lesions were of both pure and mixed type, and this correlated with the primary in the breast. Dirty necrosis was a constant histologic finding in intestine mucinous carcinomas involving the skin, and this feature may serve as a clue to an intestinal origin.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous↗

Induction of dermal-epidermal separation in mice by passive transfer of antibodies specific to type VII collagen.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a subepidermal blistering disorder associated with tissue-bound and circulating autoantibodies specific to type VII collagen, a major constituent of the dermal-epidermal junction. Previous attempts to transfer the disease by injection of patient autoantibodies into mice have been unsuccessful. To study the pathogenic relevance of antibodies specific to type VII collagen in vivo, we generated and characterized rabbit antibodies specific to a murine form of this antigen and passively transferred them into adult nude, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 mice. Immune rabbit IgG bound to the lamina densa of murine skin and immunoblotted type VII collagen. Mice injected with purified IgG specific to type VII collagen, in contrast to control mice, developed subepidermal skin blisters, reproducing the human disease at the clinical, histological, electron microscopical, and immunopathological levels. Titers of rabbit IgG in the serum of mice correlated with the extent of the disease. F(ab')(2) fragments of rabbit IgG specific to type VII collagen were not pathogenic. When injected into C5-deficient mice, antibodies specific to type VII collagen failed to induce the disease, whereas C5-sufficient mice were susceptible to blister induction. This animal model for EBA should facilitate further dissection of the pathogenesis of this disease and development of new therapeutic strategies.

Animals↗

Mucocele on the lower lip--a case report.

A patient with a superficial oral mucocele on the lower lip is presented. The lesion developed in temporal relationship with the insertion of a functional appliance. The etiology and pathogenesis of this lesion are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Localized linear IgA disease induced by ampicillin/sulbactam.

We describe a patient who developed an exclusively perianal-intergluteal vesicular eruption after receiving a course of ampicillin/sulbactam. Direct immunofluorescence microscopy of perilesional skin demonstrated linear deposits of IgA along the dermal-epidermal junction. Circulating IgA autoantibodies against the 120-kd soluble ectodomain of bullous pemphigoid antigen 180 (LAD-1 autoantigen) were detected by immunoblotting. Discontinuation of the antibiotics resulted in a rapid resolution of the skin lesions. This is a most unusual case of localized drug-induced linear IgA disease.

Aged↗

[Anti-p200 pemphigoid--a new bullous autoimmune dermatosis].

Anti-p200 pemphigoid is an autoimmune skin disease characterized by tense blisters, subepidermal split formation, and mainly neutrophilic inflammatory infiltration of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ). Direct immunofluorescence microscopy of perilesional skin biopsies demonstrates linear deposits of IgG and C3 along the DEJ, while by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy on NaCI-split human skin, patients' IgG labels the dermal side. The antigenic target of the autoantibodies is a 200 kD protein (p200) of the lower lamina lucida that can be detected in human dermal extracts by immunoblotting. While p200 is thought to be important for cell-matrix adhesion, its exact identity is unknown. To date, the p200 autoantigen has been demonstrated to be distinct from bullous pemphigoid antigens 180 und 230, laminin 1, 5, and 6, alpha6beta4 integrin, and type VII collagen. Biochemical characterization of the p200 molecule revealed a noncollagenous N-glycosylated acidic protein with an isoelectric point of approximately 5.5. We provide an overview on pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of this unique autoimmune dermatosis.

Autoantigens↗

[Relevance of histological examination in the diagnosis of autoimmune bullous dermatoses].

The histopathological picture of many autoimmune bullous dermatoses is considered to be relatively characteristic. However, different entities may show similar histological findings. In addition, the picture depends on both the stage of the disease and prior treatment. Autoimmune bullous dermatoses are characterized by the production of autoantibodies to structural proteins of the skin. In most instances, the autoantigens have been identified and are available as recombinant proteins. Utilizing these recombinant forms, specific and sensitive assays have been developed for the detection of circulating autoantibodies in the serum. The detection of autoantibodies in skin or mucous membranes and/or serum is required for the diagnosis of autoimmune bullous dermatoses. The task of the dermatopathologist in the diagnostic process of autoimmune bullous dermatoses is to describe precisely the histopathological findings, to mention differential diagnoses and to recommend how these can be confirmed or excluded by immunopathological and immunoserological studies.

Autoantibodies↗