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Background: "Curved hair" caused by acquired factors is considered to have adverse cosmetic effects, but the detailed mechanism behind curved hair remains obscure., Objective: We attempted to clarify the causes of curved hair that appeared to have occurred via acquired factors., Methods: Outer root sheath cells (ORSC) isolated from plucked human hair follicles were used to evaluate the expression of type IV collagen. Straight and curved hairs with hair follicle tissue attached were also collected from the same individuals and subjected to morphological, immunohistochemical, and gene expression analyses., Results: The amount of type IV collagen increased upon inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress in ORSC. Meanwhile, in curved hair follicle tissue, the gene expression of type IV collagen decreased. In addition, the curved hair follicle tissue obtained from participants in their 30 s to 50 s had distorted shapes compared with that of straight hair from the same individuals. It was also observed that hair matrix cells based on multiple hair germs fused to eventually form a single hair follicle and hair shaft. In curved hair follicle tissue, KRT71 protein, a marker of inner root sheath differentiation, was unevenly distributed and there was elevated expression of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) protein, an inhibitor of the Wnt signaling pathway., Conclusion: Our study revealed the fusion of hair matrix cells during hair follicle regeneration as a cause of acquired curved hair. We consider that such fusion causes hair follicle tissue to abnormally differentiate, resulting in asymmetric hair follicle shapes and curved hair., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Agents to control melanogenesis are in demand for the development of cosmetics to improve pigmentation disorders of skin and hair. In this study, we examined and evaluated the effects of flavonoids on melanogenesis in the melanogenic cells model, murine B16F10 melanoma cells. In the course of this study, we found that incubation of the cells in a medium containing 10 μM of the 4'-O-methylated flavonoids, diosmetin (4'-O-methylluteolin), acacetin (4'-O-methylapigenin) or kaempferide (4'-O-methylkaempferol), increased the melanin contents of the cells 3- to 7-fold higher than the control cells. The concentration-dependence test revealed that 20 μM acacetin showed the highest effect, up to 33-fold higher than the vehicle. On the other hand, the corresponding 4'-OH-type flavonoids, luteolin, apigenin and kaempferol, had a significantly smaller effect. Furthermore, by evaluating the melanogenic proteins, we found that the cells treated with 4'-O-methylated flavonoids showed higher tyrosinase activity, as well as upregulation of tyrosinase expression, preceded by activation of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases types 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). These results indicate that the 4'-O-methyl group of flavonoids plays an important role in the induction of melanogenesis by activating its major signal transduction pathway through the upregulation of phospho-CREB in murine B16F10 melanoma cells.

The profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from Glomerella cingulata using solid phase microextraction (SPME) with different fibers, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Polydimethylsiloxane/Divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB), Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) and Divinylbenzene/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS), was investigated. C4-C6 aliphatic alcohols were the predominant fraction of VOCs isolated by CAR/PDMS fiber. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons represented 20.3% of VOCs isolated by PDMS fiber. During the growth phase, Ochracin was produced in the large majority of VOCs. 3-Methylbutanol and phenylethyl alcohol were found in the log phase of it. Alcohols were found in cultures of higher age, while sesquiterpenes were found to be characteristic of initial growth stage of G. cingulata.

Insecticidal and acaricidal activities of two geometrical isomers, (E)- and (Z)-butylidenephthalide isolated from Angelica acutiloba, against larvae and adults of fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and house dust mites (Dermatophagoides farinae and Tyrophagus putrescentiae) were investigated and compared with that of positive controls. (E)- and (Z)-Butylidenephthalide exhibited 50% lethal concentration (LC50) values of 2.07 and 0.94 micromol/ml of diet concentration against larvae of D. melanogaster, respectively. This indicated that two isomers of butylidenephthalide have geometrical stereoselectivity for larvicidal effect. Even though both (E)- and (Z)-butylidenephthalide also showed potent adulticidal and acaricidal activity against adults of D. melanogaster and two mites, there was no significant difference between two isomers. Insecticidal activity of both (E)- and (Z)-butylidenephthalide toward adults of C. felis was not detected even at the maximum concentration of 200 microg/cm2.

5beta-Methoxy (20), 14-methyl (24), 14,14-dibromo-15-nor (25), 8-O-acyl (26-45), 8-O-alkyl (46), 8-O-alkoxycarbonyl (47, 48), and 8-O-carbamoyl (49) derivatives of PA-48153C, a novel immunosuppressant isolated from fermentation products of Streptomyces prunicolor PA-48153, were prepared. These compounds were found to retain the inhibitory activity on the responses of both T and B cells to mitogens. Among them, the C-8 hexanoate 28 showed potent suppressive effects on mitogen responses with less cytotoxicity to EL4 cells and was selected for in vivo evaluation.

A new hydrolase for conjugated bile acids, tentatively named chenodeoxycholyltaurine hydrolase, was purified to homogeneity from Bacteroides vulgatus. This enzyme hydrolyzed taurine-conjugated bile acids but showed no activity toward glycine conjugates. Among the taurine conjugates, taurochenodeoxycholic acid was most effectively hydrolyzed, tauro-beta-muricholic and ursodeoxycholic acids were moderately well hydrolyzed, and cholic and 7 beta-cholic acids were hardly hydrolyzed, suggesting that this enzyme has a specificity for not only the amino acid moiety but also the steroidal moiety. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be approximately 140,000 by Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration and the subunit molecular weight of the enzyme was 36,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH was in the range of 5.6 to 6.4. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was Met-Glu-Arg-Thr-Ile-Thr-Ile-Gln-Gln-Ile-Lys-Asp-Ala-Ala-Gln. The enzyme was activated by dithiothreitol, but inhibited by sulfhydryl inhibitors, p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, N-ethylmaleimide, and dithiodipyridine.