Na-Ra Lee

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin regulates eosinophil migration via phosphorylation of l-plastin in atopic dermatitis

Infiltration of eosinophils in atopic dermatitis (AD), which contains inflammatory molecules and cytokines, recruits more inflammatory cells and causes further skin damage. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an epithelial cytokine that induces the proinflammatory Th2 immune response and plays an important role in allergic disease. In this study, we aimed to identify a novel protein that regulates TSLP in eosinophils to further understand the role of eosinophils in atopic dermatitis. Using a proteomics approach, we identified the TSLP‐inducible protein l‐plastin and confirmed upregulation of l‐plastin and p‐l‐plastin in TSLP‐treated human eosinophilic leukaemic (EoL‐1) cells and in eosinophils from AD patients. Migration assays showed that migration of eosinophils increased when cells were treated with TSLP and when cells were treated with TSLP and an additional cytokine such as interleukin (IL)‐3, IL‐4, IL‐5 or IL‐13, when compared to migration of untreated eosinophils. We also confirmed a positive correlation between phosphorylation of l‐plastin and an increase in migration of TSLP and cytokine‐treated eosinophils. In addition, phosphorylation of l‐plastin was sensitive to PKCβII inhibition. Our results suggest that TSLP‐induced phosphorylation of l‐plastin affects eosinophil migration, which may be mediated by the protein kinase C signalling pathway in atopic dermatitis, thus suggesting p‐l‐plastin as a potential drug target for eosinophil‐targeted allergy therapy.

Upregulation of CD47 in Regulatory T Cells in Atopic Dermatitis.

Purpose Regulatory T (Treg) cells are key modulators in the immune system. Recent studies have shown that atopic dermatitis (AD) patients have higher numbers of Treg cells; however, little is known about the specific phenotype and function of Treg cells in AD. Materials and Methods To identify differentially expressed proteins in peripheral induced Treg cells in AD and naturally derived Treg cells in normal controls, CD4+CD25+ Treg cells were isolated from thymus tissue of normal mice and the spleens of AD mice. Membrane proteins were extracted, and quantitative proteomics labeling with Tandem Mass Tags (TMT) was performed, followed by one-dimensional liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Results Using TMT labeling, we identified 510 proteins, including 63 membrane proteins and 16 plasma membrane proteins. CD47 was one of the upregulated proteins in Treg cells in AD spleens. Although CD47 was expressed in all CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, a significantly higher expression of CD47 was observed in the Treg cells of AD mice and AD patients than in those of normal mice and healthy controls. Furthermore, Treg cells from the spleen showed a significantly higher expression of CD47 than those from the thymus. Conclusion We found that CD47 is highly expressed in the Treg cells of AD mice, particularly in the spleen. Based on our results, we propose that CD47high Treg cells are likely induced Treg cells and that upregulated CD47 in the Treg cells of AD patients may play a role in the increased population of Treg cells in AD.

Comparison of 2 methods of non-invasive treatment between transcutaneous electrical stimulation and pulsed electromagnetic field stimulation as replacement of invasive manual acupuncture.

The aim of this study was to find the non-invasive optimal alternative method for Manual Acupuncture. Existing researches had reported that Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) was an effective treatment method instead of manual acupuncture. In place of the TEAS, we suggested the Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs). Thus, we designed the PEMFs system which can stimulate only an acupoint. There have been no researches which reported therapeutic effect when stimulating at an identical acupoint by TEAS and PEMFs. Hence, this study investigated the therapeutic effect on the muscle fatigue after the strenuous knee extension/flexion exercise by two stimulations. We selected the stimulation method of both TEAS and PEMFs by using 2Hz biphasic rectangular wave pulse and pulse width 0.2ms. The magnetic flux was the 30.92mT (309.2gauss) at 2 Hz. The electromyogram (EMG) and the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) at rectus femoris were measured. The Median Frequency (MF) at TEAS group was significantly effective at 6 minutes (p=0.499). The PEMFs group was recovered to the MF rapidly after 4 minutes (p=0.166). The results of the peak torque indicated that both non-stimulation group and TEAS group did not recover to the peak torque at pre-exercise during the recovery period (p<0.05). In contrast, the significant treatment effect of PEMFs group was found after 14 minutes (p=0.135). The results of this study demonstrated that PEMFs were better than TEAS as a non-invasive method to replace the manual acupuncture.

Eccrine Poroma Clinically Mimicking Ingrowing Toenail Complicated with Granulation Tissue

Kwang Hoon Lee, Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Korea. Tel: 82-2-2228-2080, Fax: 82-2-393-9157, E-mail: kwanglee@yuhs.acThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Use of Pupil Size to Determine the Effect of Electromagnetic Acupuncture on Activation Level of the Autonomic Nervous System

Magnetic fields are widely considered as a method of treatment to increase the therapeutic effect when applied to acupoints. Hence, this study proposes a new method which creates significant stimulation of acupoints by using weak magnetic fields. We conducted this experiment in order to confirm the effect on the activation level of the autonomic nervous system by measuring pupil sizes in cases of stimulation by using manual acupuncture and electromagnetic acupuncture (EMA) at BL15. We selected 30 Hz of biphasic wave form with 570.1 Gauss. To confirm the biopotential by the magnetic flux density occurring in EMA that affected the activation of the autonomic nervous system, we observed the biopotential induced at the upper and the mid left and right trapezius. We observed a significant decrease in pupil size only in the EMA group (p < 0.05), thus confirming that EMA decreased the pupil size through activation of the parasympathetic nerve in the autonomic nervous system. Moreover, we confirmed that the amplitude of the biopotential which was caused by 570.1 Gauss was higher than ±20 μA. Thus, we can conclude that EMA treatment successfully activates the parasympathetic nerve in the autonomic nervous system by inducing a biotransformation by the induced biopotential.

Development and Evaluation of a Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Analyzer for Estimating Acupoint Composition

The purpose of this study was to suggest a new method of estimating acupoint compositions by using a multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MF-BIA) method at 5 kHz, 50 kHz and 200 kHz within 2 cm of acupoints divided into local segments. To verify the system developed, we confirmed the stable occurrence of a constant current at every frequency, regardless of the impedance connected to the electrodes. Moreover, we found left and right distal bicep brachii aponeurosis to be identical by using ultrasound imaging, and we analyzed the repeatability of the findings by making 10 consecutive sets of measurements (p > 0.05). To evaluate the practical use of the acupoint composition, we used the MF-BIA analyzer to measure the left and right LU3, LU4, and LU9 at the lung meridian. We confirmed that the potentials generated were equal to the changes in the cell membrane function, which were caused by the applied frequency (p < 0.01). We also verified that the MF-BIA analyzer measurements corresponded to the acupoint components by comparing the left and right potentials generated (p > 0.05). Hence, we conclude that the MF-BIA analyzer can be used to estimate the acupoint composition based on the acupoint state.

Optical tissue phantoms based on spin coating method

Fabrication of optical tissue phantom (OTP) simulating whole skin structure has been regarded as laborious and time consuming work. This study fabricated multilayer OTP optically and structurally simulating epidermis-dermis structure including blood vessel. Spin coating method was used to produce thin layer mimicking epidermal layer, then optimized for reference epoxy and silicone matrix. Adequacy of both materials in phantom fabrication was considered by comparison the fabrication results. In addition similarities between OTP and biological tissue in optical property and thickness was measured to evaluate this fabrication process.

Electromagnetic acupuncture to enhance the effects of manual acupuncture on recovery from muscle fatigue of the quadriceps.

The aim of this study was to investigate a new method of manual acupuncture that used a magnetic field to stimulate only one acupoint vertically. We developed an eight-channel electromagnetic acupuncture (EMA) system that uses a solenoid-type electrode to insert the manual acupuncture needle into a hole in an electrode. We used a manual acupuncture needle for magnetic induction in order to penetrate vertically and deeply into tissues. In order to confirm the usefulness of EMA, we investigated the effects of treatment on muscle fatigue after strenuous knee extension/flexion exercises that had been performed by three groups: the nonstimulation, the manual acupuncture, and the EMA groups. Electromyograms showed that the median frequency (MF) in the EMA group had rapidly recovered after 4 minutes (p = 0.608), but that the peak torque had not recovered to the normal state (p < 0.05). Thus, we confirmed that compared with manual acupuncture, EMA resulted in better recovery from muscle fatigue.

Development of a Multi-frequency Impedance Measurement System for Acupuncture Points and Preliminary Report of Measurement Results

Objectives: The purpose of this paper was to suggest a new diagnostic method to estimate the electrical properties at acupoints. Thus, we developed a multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance measurement system to analyze the state of bioions in body fluids, not the skin impedance at an acupoint, for various body compositions. Methods: At low frequencies, the current does not penetrate the cell membrane, and at high frequencies, the current passes through both intracellular and extracellular fluids because of a decrease in the cell membrane’s impedance. To confirm the effect of the composition of an extracellular fluid or an intracellular fluid in a segment such as an acupoint, are developed a system to detect the acupoint potential at 5, 50 and 200 KHz between two adjacent points in the areas of LU3, LU4 and LU9. Results: The detected acupoint potential decreased with increasing frequency. A correlation analysis of identical left/right acupoints showed a high correlation for three types of acupoint potentials at multiple frequencies. Moreover, we observed a low correlation at 5 KHz, which is a significant factor to be considered for the unbalanced relationship between identical acupoints. Conclusions: On the basis of a meridian theoretical point of view, we may infer the acupoint’s physiological composition by using the multi-developed frequency bioelectrical impedance measurement system.

Atrophia maculosa varioliformis cutis with histological features of perifollicular elastolysis

ejd.2012.1811 Auteur(s) : Seongmin Noh1, Hyo Jin Roh2, Shan Jin1,3, Nara Lee1,3, Chang Ook Park1 copark@yuhs.ac, Kwang Hoon Lee1,3 1 Department of Dermatology, 2 Yeouido Oracle Clinic, Seoul, Korea 3 Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Korea Atrophia maculosa varioliformis cutis (AMVC) is a rarely reported idiopathic macular non-inflammatory atrophy on the face. Although this disease is characterised by spontaneous atrophic depression developing [...]