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Objectives: The aim is to evaluate the prevention and development of cervical cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in Japan and its background based on a questionnaire survey., Methods: The questionnaire was handed to 460 adult female SLE patients at 12 medical institutions. The participants were grouped by age, and data related to their human papillomavirus vaccination status, age at first coitus, cervical cancer screening, and diagnosis of cervical cancer were analysed., Results: A total of 320 responses were received. Patients aged 35-54 years included a higher proportion of patients whose age at first coitus was <20 years. This group also showed a higher rate of cervical cancer/dysplasia. Only nine patients had a human papillomavirus vaccination history. Adequate frequency of cervical cancer screening was slightly higher (52.1%) among SLE patients than in the Japanese general population. However, 23% of the patients had never undergone examination, primarily because of a feeling of troublesome. The incidence of cervical cancer was significantly higher among SLE patients. One reason for this may be associated with the use of immunosuppressants, although the difference was not significant., Conclusions: SLE patients are at a higher risk of cervical cancer and dysplasia. Rheumatologists should proactively recommend vaccination and screening examinations for SLE female patients., (© Japan College of Rheumatology 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

AlN/SiO x nanocomposite coatings fabricated by differential pumping cosputtering (DPCS) were investigated by analytical electron microscopy. The DPCS system consists of two halves of a Chamber, A and B, for radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition of different materials, and a substrate holder that rotates through the chambers. Al and SiO2 were sputtered in gas environments with a flow mixture of N2 and Ar gases at RF power of 200 W in the Al Chamber A and a flow of Ar gas at RF powers of 49 W in the SiO2 Chamber B. The substrates of (001) Si wafers heated at 250°C were rotated for 1,080 min at 3 rpm and alternately deposited by AlN and SiO2. AlN columnar crystals grew at a rate of ~0.3 nm/revolution preferentially along the hexagonal [0001] axis. Amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO x ), deposited at a rate of ~0.2 nm/revolution, was coagulated preferentially along the boundaries between the AlN columns and also the interfaces between the subgrains within the AlN columns. The a-SiO x played an important role in the increase in mechanical hardness of the AlN/SiO x composite coating by disturbing deformation of AlN crystal lattices.

Background: Mycosis fungoides (MF) classically presents from patch stage to plaque stage over a number of years and finally progresses to tumour stage with nodal or visceral involvement. The mechanism of progression remains incompletely elucidated. Chemokines and their receptors are known to be involved in disease mechanisms, with CXCL12 and CXCR4 playing a critical role in carcinogenesis, invasion and cancer cell migration in various carcinomas., Objectives: To investigate the expression of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in different cutaneous stages of MF., Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin samples from 40 patients with MF (21 patch stage, 10 plaque stage, nine tumour stage) and 30 non-neoplastic control skin samples were analysed. CXCL12 and CXCR4 were assessed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining., Results: The expression level of mRNA for CXCL12 in plaque-stage MF was significantly higher than in control skin (P = 0.0035), or patch-stage (P = 0.0108) or tumour-stage disease (P = 0.0089). The CXCR4 mRNA expression level in plaque-stage disease was significantly higher than in control skin (P = 0.0090) or patch-stage disease (P = 0.0387). CXCL12- and CXCR4-positive cell rates in patch-stage and plaque-stage MF were significantly higher than those in control skin (P < 0.0001). CXCL12- and CXCR4-positive cell rates in tumour-stage MF were significantly lower than those in patch- and plaque-stage disease (P = 0.0274 and P = 0.0492, respectively)., Conclusions: Our data suggest that neoplastic T cells in MF are exposed to the microenvironment, given the abundance of CXCL12 during its progression, and also that neoplastic T cells express CXCR4, especially in the pretumour stage. We reveal that the CXCL12-CXCR4 axis plays a critical role in MF progression., (© 2014 British Association of Dermatologists.)

Some diseases are associated with abnormally extended regions of triplet repeats. These repeating regions are an attractive target for both diagnostic and therapeutic goals. In an attempt to approach to this goal, we have focused on establishment of an allosteric binding mechanism, in which the binding of the ligand promotes the next ligand binding. In the previous study, we already reported that the ligand having the bipyridine unit for binding with Cu(2+) and the Hoechst33258 for binding to A(3)T(3) site displayed Cu(2+)- mediated assembly on the DNA with two A(3)T(3) sites. In this study, we synthesized the new ligands containing two bipyridine units attached to Hoechst33258 by different length linkers. It was expected that the bipyridine-Cu(2+) complexation would enhance assembly of a number of the ligand on the DNA sequence with repeating regions. UV spectroscopy has been used to demonstrate the binding of these ligands to a DNA template mediated by the complexation of Cu(2+) ions.

Genome-targeting molecules would have broad application as probes in genomic study. We recently developed the ligands (Bpy-H) connecting the Hoechst33258 skeleton for DNA binding and 2,2'-bipyridine for Cu(2+) complexation. It was shown that L-Bpy-H with a long linker exhibited Cu(2+)-mediated assembly on the DNA template having two A(3)T(3) sites in a ratio of 1:2:1 DNA-ligand-Cu(2+). Binding selectivity depends on the distance between the two A(3)T(3) sites of DNA. In contrast, S-Bpy-H having a short linker tended to form 1:2:2 DNA-ligand-Cu(2+) complex.