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Skin exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight causes erythema and edema formation as well as inflammatory responses. As some of these ultraviolet-induced effects are potentially mediated by nitric oxide synthases, we examined the role of cytokines and ultraviolet A1 radiation (340–400 nm) on the expression of the nitric oxide synthase-2 in endothelia of normal human skin biopsies during short-term organ culture as well as expression and activity of the nitric oxide synthase-2 in in vitro cell cultures of human dermal endothelial cells. Both, cytokine challenge (interleukin-1β + tumor necrosis factor-α + interferon-γ) but also ultraviolet A1 exposure (50 J per cm2 ) in the absence of cytokines led to the expression of nitric oxide synthase-2 in human skin organ cultures as shown by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, exposing human dermal endothelial cell cultures to proinflammatory cytokines but also to ultraviolet A1 radiation (6–24 J per cm2 ) in the absence of cytokines resulted in significant nitric oxide synthase-2 mRNA and protein expression as well as enzyme activity. Ultraviolet A1 irradiation of cytokine activated cells led to further increases in nitric oxide synthase-2 mRNA, protein expression, and enzyme activity. Moreover, a reporter gene assay using a human nitric oxide synthase-2 promoter construct provide evidence that ultraviolet A1 , in the absence of cytokines, induces nitric oxide synthase-2 expression and activity, as previously shown for cytokines. Thus, the results presented here demonstrate for the first time that in dermal endothelia of human skin ultraviolet A1 radiation alone represents a proinflammatory stimulus sufficient to initiate nitric oxide synthase-2 expression as well as activity comparable with the respective response seen in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vectra X3 3-dimensional face scanner allows us to visualise the erythema of superficial layers of skin in addition to its regular scanning functions. The aim of our study was to find out whether changes we provoked in the circulation of the skin would be registered and displayed by the face scanner. We measured the circulation in the skin of the cheeks of 20 volunteers with a face scanner, a laser Doppler device, and a skin pigmentation analyser before and after the application of a nitric oxide cream. The results were compared in terms of grey tones, local concentrations of haemoglobin, and erythema. All methods showed significant changes (p<0.001) before and after application of the cream. The study proved that the Vectra X3 recognises changes in skin circulation and displays them in a simple and evident way., (Copyright © 2017 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: In autologous fat transfer, several questions regarding basic biochemical properties of the transplant remain unanswered. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB have been shown to improve transplantation results. However, no study regarding naturally occurring levels of growth factors in transplanted adipose tissue has yet been performed. In addition, there are no data as to whether intraoperative refinement eliminates or concentrates growth factors., Methods: The authors investigated the content of bFGF, IGF, VEGF, and PDGF-BB in freshly aspirated adipose tissue and the presence of those factors in the various fractions after centrifugation by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay readings. They also analyzed growth factor content after storage periods of 3 and 5 days and investigated the vitality of freshly centrifuged adipose tissue by staining with Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide., Results: The authors found significant quantities of bFGF, IGF-1, VEGF, and PDGF-BB (39.9, 113.8, 3.0, and 5.8 pg/mg, respectively) in the lipoaspirate harvested for transplantation. Separation by centrifugation and discarding of the infranatant and supernatant fluid means that most of the growth factors are left in the transplant. The growth factor content in the other fractions was significantly lower. Lipoaspirate can be cultured for several days, with the tissue remaining biologically active and producing significant growth factor levels., Conclusion: Knowledge of the naturally occurring range for these growth factor quantities will enable researchers and clinicians to make autologous fat transfer procedures more reliable and safe.