Masahiro Takigawa

Regression of plane warts following spontaneous inflammation. An histopathological study.

This paper describes the clinical and histopathological features in ten cases of spontaneously involuting plane warts. In all, rapid regression occurred after the sudden development of an inflammatory reaction. At an early stage a degenerative change appears in the upper epidermis and the typic features of the warts are masked. At the height of the reaction an intense mononuclear cell infiltrate in the dermis associated with epidermal spongiosis, exocytosis cell necrosis and focal parakeratosis is found. It is suggested that the development of cell mediated immunity may be responsible for spontaneous involution of warts.

Relationship of the cell cycle to sunburn cell formation.

Abstract— Relationship of the cell cycle to sunburn cell (SBC) formation was investigated in vivo. The number of SBC counted 24 h after UV irradiation was decreased by intradermal injection of chemicals which suppress cell proliferation, such as colchicine, 5‐fluorouracil, methotrexate and hydroxyurea. Tape stripping, done 14 h before UV irradiation, stimulated SBC production as well as DNA synthesis (labeling index), while increased SBC counts, together with the high labeling index, showed a parallel decrease when the chemicals were given immediately after tape stripping. These results suggest that the cells proliferating at a higher rate than in other cells may be sensitive to UV and converted to SBC.

Pemphigus foliaceus, myasthenia gravis, thymoma and red cell aplasia. A case report and indirect immunofluorescence study on 38 patients with myasthenia gravis.

A 68‐year‐old man developed pemphigus foliaceus, myasthenia gravis with a spindle cell thymoma, and later died with red cell aplasia. At autopsy, pemphigus affected the oesophageal mucosa, and this finding was confirmed by direct immunofluorescence.

Evaluation of the Japanese-Chinese Herbal Medicine, Kampo, for the Treatment of Lupus Dermatoses in Autoimmune Prone MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr Mice

Kampo, a Japanese‐Chinese traditional herbal medicine, has been used for the treatment of various diseases for about 3,000 years in China. Among herbal medicines, Sairei‐to is well known for improving the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other collagen diseases. However, its immunosuppressive effects on autoimmune cutaneous phenomena are not completely understood. We investigated the effects of Sairei‐to on the development of lupus dermatoses in autoimmune‐prone MRL/Mp‐lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) mice, an animal model which spontaneously develops skin lesions similar to those seen in human lupus erythematosus. Virgin female MRL/lpr mice at 1 month of age, which were treated orally with Sairei‐to, had reduced amounts of IgG deposition at the dermoepidermal junction, titers of anti‐DNA antibodies and rheumatoid factor, and lymphoproliferation. These results support the use of traditional herbal medicines in patients with human RA and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Generalized granuloma anulare in a 15-month-old infant.

A Japanese girl aged 15 months had an eruption of 3 months duration on the face, trunk, and extremities except for the palms and soles. The lesions were infiltrated papules varying from 2 to 3 mm in diameter. Blood eosinophilia of 5% was demonstrated. Skin biopsy specimen revealed a necrobiotic palisading granuloma in the corium. All lesions began to subside after 1 weeks administration of oral corticosteroid and completely involuted in 2 months. A possible etiologic role of insect bites was considered.

Distribution and mobility of specific antigens on isolated guinea pig epidermal cells

Surface distribution and mobility of epidermis-specific antigens were studied under various conditions in trypsinized, isolated guinea pig epidermal cells by means of immunoferritin electron microscopy. Fresh or paraformaldehyde-fixed cells were treated with rabbit antiserum specific for epidermal cell surface antigens of the guinea pig at 4°C and then labeled with ferritin-conjugated sheep anti-rabbit IgG at 4° or 37°C for 15 min, respectively. In fresh cells labeled at 4°C ferritin was bound uniformly over the entire cell surface in all keratinocytes with some tendency to form small aggregates. In fresh cells labeled at 37°C there were large aggregates of ferritin that were separated by long unlabeled regions (patch formation) and pinocytosis of ferritin in all basal and lower spinous cells. Some upper spinous cells also showed formation of small clusters and pinocytosis of ferritin. Other upper spinous and granular cells were uniformly labeled on the entire cell surface and showed no evidence of pinocytosis. The surface antigens of isolated epidermal cells were demonstrated to be mobile in the membrane plane of basal and lower spinous cells but immobile within the membrane of granular cells. Immobilization of the antigens seemed to occur first in upper spinous cells. It is possible that decrease in fluidity is one of the qualitative changes of the epidermal cell membrane associated with keratinization. Fixed basal and spinous cells showed many small aggregates of ferritin while fixed granular cells displayed uniform labeling. It was suggested that modification of the antigenicity due to paraformaldehyde fixation resulted in the patchy appearance of labeling in lower keratinocytes.

Regulation of IgM anti-bovine γ-globulin antibody formation by helper and suppressor T cells in rabbits☆

Abstract Primary IgM anti-bovine γ-globulin (BGG) antibody formation was studied in rabbits subjected to 500 or 900 R of whole body X-irradiation in combination with one or more of the following conditions: appendectomy (Ax), thymectomy (Tx), shielding of appendix (As) or bone marrow (Bs) during irradiation (X), transfer of 10 9 appendix or thymus cells (Ac or Tc), and immediate immunization with 200 μg of alum-precipitated BGG iv. The IgM antibody response was well preserved in AsX rabbits in comparison with X 500 rabbits. Conversely, the response was suppressed in AxX 500 rabbits although transfer of autologous appendix cells to these animals (AxX 500 .Ac) restored the response. In the group receiving 900 R, there was variable restoration in individual AxX.Ac and AxBsX.Ac rabbits and little or none in AxTxX.Tc, AxTxBsX.Tc, and AxTxBsX.Ac animals. However, simultaneous injections of autologous thymus cells and appendix lymphocytes (AxTxX.Ac.Tc) restored the response completely. The IgM response was somewhat enhanced in AsTxX animals and returned again to the level of normal controls by injecting these animals with autologous thymus cells. However, marked suppression was seen when AsTxX rabbits were injected with neonatal allogeneic thymus cells. A remarkable enhancement of IgM antibody formation was induced in normal rabbits by injection of PHA into the appendiceal artery. On the basis of these results and of histological observations, it was suggested that the rabbit appendix represents a large pool of both B and T cells and that appendix-derived B cells participating in IgM anti-BGG antibody formation are under the regulation of both helper and suppressor T cells.

In vivo maturation of B cells in the spleen of nude mice following administration of bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Morphological changes of the splenic white pulp in athymic nude mice (nu/nu) and their normal littermates (nu/ + ) following intraperitoneal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide were studied by light and electron microscopy, immunofluorescence and autoradiography. Early blast formation and subsequent appearance of IgM-containing cells were observed by 72 h and at 120 h, respectively, in the periarteriolar sheath of nu/nu mice and in the follicular area of nu/ + mice. Ultrastructural details of blasts and the time course of their development were similar in both nu/nu and nu/ + mice. Lymphoblasts showed a large nucleus with a prominent nucleolus, many polysomes and poorly developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Plasmablasts had a nucleus with coarse heterochromatin and copious cytoplasm filled with dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum. Generally, lymphocytes proliferated and differentiated through lymphoblasts to plasmablasts by 72 h and finally to plasma cells at 120 h. However, this development was asynchronous since lymphoblasts, plasmablasts and plasma cells were observed simultaneously at 72 h. It was suggested that a B cell subset responsive to bacterial lipopolysaccharide matures to antibody-forming cells in the thymus-dependent area in nu/nu mice and in the thymus-independent area in nu/ + mice.

Demonstration of epidermis-specific heteroantigens in thymic epithelial cells.

Heterologous anti-epidermal cell serum was obtained by immunizing rabbits with enzymatically dispersed, viable epidermal cells of guinea pigs, followed by absorption of the antiserum with red blood cells (sheep and guinea pig), lymphoid cells and liver powder (guinea pig). Immunofluorescence demonstrated that the antiserum reacted specifically with stratified squamous epithelial cells and thymus epithelial cells including Hassalls bodies of the guinea pig, monkey and man. It is suggested that the epithelial cells of the skin and thymus have common heteroantigens.

Distribution patterns of cytoplasmic microtubules in epidermal keratinocytes.

The distribution of cytoplasmic microtubules in cultured guinea‐pig keratinocytes was investigated using immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy with monospecific anti‐tubulin antibodies and electron microscopy (EM). In culture, adherent cells displayed networks of thin fluorescent fibres, while a homogeneous and/or granular cytoplasmic IF was shown in the cells of upper layers as well as in trypsinized cells. By EM many microtubules were shown in adherent cells but there were fewer or none in the upper layers. An increase in calcium ion (Ca2+) concentration and the addition of an ionophore (X537A) to the culture medium caused disassembly of microtubules. This effect was cancelled by a calmodulin inhibitor. Cryostat sections of normal human and guinea‐pig epidermis stained with anti‐tubulin antibodies showed a homogeneous and/or granular cytoplasmic IF from basal to granular layers but no detectable IF was seen in the horny layer. These results suggest that keratinocytes contain a cellular pool of tubulin in various states of polymerization and that microtubule disassembly may occur during differentiation, probably being regulated by Ca2+‐calmodulin complexes.