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Kaposi's sarcoma appeared on a chronically lymphedematous leg of a 75-year-old man. Immunologic vestigations revealed a lack of cellular immune response confined to the involved lower limb. Regional disorders of immune surveillance are thought to play an important role in the early stages of Kaposi's sarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case is reported of trimethylaminuria that first developed in adulthood without any apparent cause. The patient developed a characteristic fish odour of his sweat, urine and to his breath after the consumption of choline-rich foods. Elevated levels of trimethylamine were present in the urine after dietary tests and identified by means of gas chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the awareness that pesticides can have other effects apart from generic toxicity is growing. In particular, several pieces of evidence highlight their influence on human fertility. In this study, we investigated, by a virtual screening approach, the binding between pesticides and proteins present in human gametes or associated with reproduction, in order to identify new interactions that could affect human fertility. To this aim, we prepared ligand (pesticides) and receptor (proteins) 3D structure datasets from online structural databases (such as PubChem and RCSB), and performed a virtual screening analysis using Autodock Vina. In the comparison of the predicted interactions, we found that famoxadone was predicted to bind Cellular Retinol Binding Protein-III in the retinol-binding site with a better minimum energy value of -10.4 Kcal/mol and an RMSD of 3.77 with respect to retinol (-7.1 Kcal/mol). In addition to a similar network of interactions, famoxadone binding is more stabilized by additional hydrophobic patches including L20, V29, A33, F57, L117, and L118 amino acid residues and hydrogen bonds with Y19 and K40. These results support a possible competitive effect of famoxadone on retinol binding with impacts on the ability of developing the cardiac tissue, in accordance with the literature data on zebrafish embryos. Moreover, famoxadone binds, with a minimum energy value between -8.3 and -8.0 Kcal/mol, to the IZUMO Sperm-Egg Fusion Protein, interacting with a network of polar and hydrophobic amino acid residues in the cavity between the 4HB and Ig-like domains. This binding is more stabilized by a predicted hydrogen bond with the N185 residue of the protein. A hindrance in this position can probably affect the conformational change for JUNO binding, avoiding the gamete membrane fusion to form the zygote. This work opens new interesting perspectives of study on the effects of pesticides on fertility, extending the knowledge to other typologies of interaction which can affect different steps of the reproductive process.

Human skin is continuously exposed to internal and external influences that may alter its condition and functioning. As a consequence, the skin may undergo alterations leading to immune dysfunction, imbalanced epidermal homeostasis, or other skin disorders. New theories are developing that link food intake and health. The objective of this review is to evaluate current knowledge about the interrelation of food and skin, particularly the effect of nutrients on some cutaneous immune disorders and therapeutic actions of nutrients in skin disorders.

Pemphigus refers to a group of autoimmune blistering skin diseases, mainly identified as pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, both characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against keratinocyte adhesion molecules, leading to loss of cell-cell adhesion with consequent blister formation. Pemphigus vulgaris is reported to be associated with human leukocyte antigen DR4 and/or DR6 whereas no data are available on pemphigus foliaceus, except for the endemic Brazilian form (fogo selvagem), which is reported to be associated with DR1 and DR4. We here report human leukocyte antigen molecular typing on a total of 87 patients, 61 with pemphigus vulgaris and 26 with pemphigus foliaceus, versus 128 healthy matched controls. Generic typing showed an increase of DRB1*04 and DRB1*14 and a decrease of DRB1*07 in both pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus patients. Molecular subtyping of DR4+ and DR14+ subjects showed a highly significant association between the DRB1*1401 and both pemphigus vulgaris (p < 0.0001) and pemphigus foliaceus patients (p < 0.0001) together with a significant increase of the linked DQB1*0503 (pemphigus vulgaris p < 0.0001; pemphigus foliaceus p < 0.0001). Moreover, whereas the association between DRB1*0402 and pemphigus vulgaris (p < 0.0001) has been confirmed, no significant association between a specific allele of the DR4 group and pemphigus foliaceus, has been found. Therefore, at least in Italian patients, pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus share DRB1*1401 and DQB1*0503, as susceptible human leukocyte antigen alleles, whereas DRB1*0402 is only found associated with pemphigus vulgaris. The observation that both diseases, pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus, carry the same susceptible human leukocyte antigen alleles has been interpreted as a common genetic background predisposing to pemphigus as, like in other autoimmune disorders, it is not sufficient to explain the onset of the disease on the basis of the sole aforementioned alleles. Other linked genes and/or environmental factors should play a facilitating role in the outbreak of pemphigus, either pemphigus vulgaris or pemphigus foliaceus.

Pemphigus lesions appeared in a 58-year-old man who was taking captopril for his hypertension. Drug withdrawal resulted in complete remission of the eruption. The subsequent use of enalapril as an antihypertensive agent caused a recurrence of pemphigus lesions along with onset of itching and dermographism. Intercellular antibodies were not found. Discontinuance of enalapril therapy had no effect on the clinical course. Steroid treatment was needed to resolve the eruption. Recently repeated immunofluorescent studies disclosed intercellular IgG antibodies in the serum at a low titer. Pemphigus induction could be initially related to the thiol acantholytic property of captopril. Subsequent production of intercellular antibodies and drug-activation of the kinin system could be responsible for relapsing.

Eight patients with classical Kaposi's sarcoma histologically confirmed underwent lymphoscopic and/or lymphographic exploration of the lower limbs where the lesions were located. In all patients lymphoscopy showed abnormal images ranging from irregular distribution of the colouring agent to "starlike images" and dermal reflux. Lymphography was performed in 3 patients and demonstrated, in 2 of them, "lymphatic pools", obvious hyperplasia of the superficial lymphatic vessels and areas of lymphangectasia. The finding in all 8 patients of dynamic abnormalities of the lymphatic system should encourage further investigations in this field, notably to detect a possible correlation between lymph stasis, disorders in regional immunity and the development of classical Kaposi's sarcoma.