Kazumi Sasaki

Proteome Analysis of an Aerobic Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1

We analyzed the proteome of a crenararchaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1, by using the following four methods: (i) two-dimensional PAGE followed by MALDI-TOF MS, (ii) one-dimensional SDS-PAGE in combination with two-dimensional LC-MS/MS, (iii) multidimensional LC-MS/MS, and (iv) two-dimensional PAGE followed by amino-terminal amino acid sequencing. These methods were found to be complementary to each other, and biases in the data obtained in one method could largely be compensated by the data obtained in the other methods. Consequently a total of 704 proteins were successfully identified, 134 of which were unique to A. pernix K1, and 19 were not described previously in the genomic annotation. We found that the original annotation of the genomic data of this archaeon was not adequate in particular with respect to proteins of 10–20 kDa in size, many of which were described as hypothetical. Furthermore the amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis indicated that surprisingly the translation of 52% of their genes starts with TTG in contrast to ATG (28%) and GTG (20%). Thus, A. pernix K1 is the first example of an organism in which TTG is the most predominant translational initiation codon.

A case of contact urticaria syndrome due todi(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP) in work clothes

We previously reported a case of contact urticaria syndrome (CUS) due to di(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP) in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grip on cotton gloves. The patient reported in this previous paper was careful not to have any contact with PVC products in his daily life or in his working environment. He discontinued the use of protective gloves with a PVC grip that was the cause of CUS. When working, he used cotton gloves without a PVC grip. We prescribed antihistamines which slightly improved his condition. However, when he wore work clothes while on duty, CUS relapsed. This condition was severe and made him feel anxious. When we advised him to wear a cotton shirt under his work clothes, the contact urticaria did not develop. We suspected that some component of the work clothes was the cause of his symptoms. A prick test with the extract solution of his work clothes showed a wheal and flare at the 15 min reading. The common component of the grip and the work clothes was found by analysis to be DOP.

Contact urticaria due to polyethylene gloves

We report a rare case of contact urticaria due to polyethylene gloves. The patient, a 46‐year‐old cook, had had had chronic urticaria since 1985, and first visited our hospital in June 2000. We began by prescribing antihistamine and antiallergenic drugs for him, but his condition did not improve. From a detailed interview, we established that when he put on polyethylene gloves at work, his condition worsened. We suspected some component of his gloves to be the cause of his symptoms. Prick and scratch tests with a solution extracted from his gloves showed a wheal‐and‐flare reaction at 15 min. We advised him to wear a cotton shirt under his clothes in daily life, and to put on cotton gloves under his polyethylene gloves while at work. Subsequently, the size and the number of wheals were markedly smaller and the subjects symptoms were reduced.

Non-occupational allergic contact dermatitis from 2-N-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one in a Japanese mattress gel-sheet used for cooling.

Atsushi Fukunaga1, Satoshi Nishiyama1, Hideki Shimizu1, Hiroshi Nagai1, Tatsuya Horikawa1, Ayumi Mori2, Noboru Inoue2, Kazumi Sasaki2 and Chikako Nishigori1 1Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Related, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan and 2Product Safety Technology Center, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, 4-1-67 Otemae, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 540-0008, Japan

Contact urticaria caused by a fluorescent dye.

A 28‐year‐old man developed urticaria while he was working in the garage. We suspected contact urticaria, which can be caused by some products used in his field, and we carried out a prick test using his work gloves and shoes. His gloves were orange and black in colour, his shoes were black and white in colour, and the materials they were made of were unknown. The results of the prick test using the gloves and shoes were positive. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was applied, and a fluorescent dye was found to be present in his gloves and shoes. The results of a prick test using the fluorescent dye were positive. His urticaria improved after he stopped using these gloves and shoes. This was a rare case of contact urticaria caused by a fluorescent dye in clothing.

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by the preservative 4,5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one in black trousers

Ayano Umekoji1, Kazuyoshi Fukai1, Junko Sowa-Osako1, Marina Manabe1, Maki Kikugawa2, Kyoko Ishii3, Kazumi Sasaki3 and Daisuke Tsuruta1 1Department of Dermatology, Osaka City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan, 2Consumer Product Safety Technology Division, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, Product Safety Technology Centre, Osaka, 559-0034, Japan, and 3Biosafety Analysis Division, National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, Biological Resource Centre, Tokyo, 151-0066, Japan

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by Solvent Orange 60 in spectacle frames in Japan: HYPERSENSITIVITY TO SOLVENT ORANGE 60

Solvent Orange 60 (SO 60) is a perinone-type oil-soluble plastic dye, and may cause allergic contact dermatitis when used in spectacle frames. In 1999, we reported the first male case, who had a strong positive patch test reaction to SO 60 1% pet. (1, 2). We since continued to patch test SO 60 in patients with suspected spectacle frame dermatitis, and encountered 4 female patients with positive reactions between 2009 and 2016, the latest of whom is presented here.

Contact dermatitis because of antimicrobial coating desk mat

A 65-year-old man developed itchy oedematous erythema on the extensor surface of bilateral forearms for 6 months. He was a guard by profession, who wrote a log everyday on a desk with a desk mat. Patch testing (PT) was performed with the Japanese standard series, rubber series, resin series, and the desk mat by the Finn Chamber technique. The patches were removed from the back after 2 D, and readings were taken on day (D) 2, 3, and 7 according to the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG) guidelines. PT with the desk mat showed strong positive (þþ) reaction at D2, D3, and D7.

An extracellular [NiFe] hydrogenase mediating iron corrosion is encoded in a genetically unstable genomic island in Methanococcus maripaludis

Certain methanogens deteriorate steel surfaces through a process called microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). However, the mechanisms of MIC, whereby methanogens oxidize zerovalent iron (Fe0), are largely unknown. In this study, Fe0-corroding Methanococcus maripaludis strain OS7 and its derivative (strain OS7mut1) defective in Fe0-corroding activity were isolated. Genomic analysis of these strains demonstrated that the strain OS7mut1 contained a 12-kb chromosomal deletion. The deleted region, termed “MIC island”, encoded the genes for the large and small subunits of a [NiFe] hydrogenase, the TatA/TatC genes necessary for the secretion of the [NiFe] hydrogenase, and a gene for the hydrogenase maturation protease. Thus, the [NiFe] hydrogenase may be secreted outside the cytoplasmic membrane, where the [NiFe] hydrogenase can make direct contact with Fe0, and oxidize it, generating hydrogen gas: Fe0 + 2 H+ → Fe2+ + H2. Comparative analysis of extracellular and intracellular proteomes of strain OS7 supported this hypothesis. The identification of the MIC genes enables the development of molecular tools to monitor epidemiology, and to perform surveillance and risk assessment of MIC-inducing M. maripaludis.

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by Solvent Orange 60 dye in the temple tips of eyeglasses and a review of cases of eyeglass allergic contact dermatitis

A 57‐year‐old Japanese woman developed eczematous skin lesions behind both ears 10 days after she began using a new pair of glasses. The skin lesions resolved two weeks after she stopped wearing the glasses.