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Vascular‐type Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is an autosomal‐dominant inherited disorder caused by a deficit in collagen III. It results from heterogeneous mutations in the α1 collagen III gene (COL3A1) and is associated with life‐threatening complications, even in younger patients. However, the details of the pathogenesis underlying the COL3A1 mutation causing vEDS remain unclear. Here, we focus on anomalies in collagen fiber size and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in patients with vEDS using electron microscopy (EM). We discovered that although the infants did not have vEDS, collagenous formations were similar to their samples in vEDS. Moreover, we examined the expression of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) as an ER stress marker and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) as a binding partner protein for collagen fibrils in the dermis and COL3A1. The expression levels of ATF6 in the vEDS group were significantly higher than in infants and controls; COMP and COL3A1 levels were significantly lower. The fragile collagen fibrils in vEDS might form as a result of ER stress and that small, newly formed collagen fibrils may appear. This research revealed a novel prospect regarding an issue that has been unclear for a long time, which is the reason for the abnormal sizes of collagenous fibrils in vEDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquito bite reactions consist of an immediate response characterized by an erythema and a wheal, which peaks at 20 min, and a delayed response characterized by a papule and/or an erythema, which peaks at 24 h. Mosquito bite reactions progress from stage I to stage V as an individual is repeatedly bitten as follows: stage I, neither immediate nor delayed reaction; stage II, delayed reaction; stage III, both immediate and delayed reaction; stage IV, immediate reaction; and stage V, neither immediate nor delayed reaction. In 1985, we conducted a cross‐sectional study that demonstrated a positive association between age and stage in response to an Aedes albopictus bite among 162 healthy volunteers. However, it remains unknown how the mosquito bite reaction stage progresses in the same individual over decades. In the present study, the mosquito bite reaction of 10 subjects from the 1985 cross‐sectional cohort was longitudinally evaluated over 30 years. We confirmed the time‐dependent progression of stage in four subjects. One stage II subject and three stage III subjects had advanced to the next stage. We went on to find that, contrasting with the general trend found in the previous studies, the majority of the subjects (6/10) remained of stage III over the 30‐year study period. Upon closer inspection, this apparently non‐progressive group demonstrated a reduction in the size of the delayed reactions. The present study demonstrated a marked individual variability in course of the stage progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]