In the past decade, there has been an increase in allergic reactions to peanut proteins, sometimes resulting in fatal anaphylaxis. The development of improved methods for diagnosis and treatment of peanut allergies requires a better understanding of the structure of the allergens. Ara h 1, a major peanut allergen belonging to the vicilin family of seed storage proteins, is recognized by serum IgE from >90% of peanut-allergic patients. In this communication, Ara h 1 was shown to form a highly stable homotrimer. Hydrophobic interactions were determined to be the main molecular force holding monomers together. A molecular model of the Ara h 1 trimer was constructed to view the stabilizing hydrophobic residues in the three dimensional structure. Hydrophobic amino acids that contribute to trimer formation are at the distal ends of the three dimensional structure where monomer-monomer contacts occur. Coincidentally, the majority of the IgE-binding epitopes are also located in this region, suggesting that they may be protected from digestion by the monomer-monomer contacts. On incubation of Ara h 1 with digestive enzymes, various protease-resistant fragments containing IgE-binding sites were identified. The highly stable nature of the Ara h 1 trimer, the presence of digestion resistant fragments, and the strategic location of the IgE-binding epitopes indicate that the quaternary structure of a protein may play a significant role in overall allergenicity.

Clinical improvement from FRM treatment appeared to be related to dermal matrix regeneration. FRM treatment may be effective in improving acne scars and facial pores.

Quantification of quality of life (QOL) related to disease severity is important in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), because the assessment provides additional information to the traditional objective clinical scoring systems. To document the impact of AD on QOL for both children and adults as well as to quantify the relationship with disease severity, QOL assessments were performed over a 6-month period on 415 patients with AD. A questionnaire derived from the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was used to determine the QOL for 71 infants, 197 children and 147 adults, respectively. To measure AD severity, both the Rajka & Langeland scoring system and the Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index were used. The mean scores were as follows: 7.7 ± 5.5 for IDQOL, 6.6 ± 6.3 for CDLQI, and 10.7 ± 7.9 for DLQI. In conclusion, these QOL scores are correlated with AD severity scores as estimated by the Rajka & Langeland severity score and the SCORAD. The outcome of the QOL instruments in this study demonstrates that atopic dermatitis of both children and adults affects their QOL.

Th2-and Th22-polarising cytokines became statistically significant in cells from atopic patients relative to those from healthy controls. Fujita et al. (14) also confirmed the pluripotent Th-cell (Th1, Th2, Th17, Th22)-polarising capacity of freshly isolated skin-derived resident and inflammatory DCs, and they emphasised that the recruitment of disease-specific Th subsets is determined primarily by the microenvironment associated with chronic inflammation in AD. In an analogous experimental system, Reefer et al. (19) demonstrated that in DC-T cell co-cultures after TSLP, allergen or SEB stimulation, Th cells from AD patients produce Th2-type cytokines, although that study did not investigate Th22 cytokine expression. In our experiments, we also observed that unstimulated mDCs had a similar capacity to polarise Th1 cells in atopic and non-atopic individuals; however, this ability of atopic mDCs became impaired after stimulation. Consistent with the results of our study, Lebre et al. (20) found that CD1c+ DCs exhibit aberrant functions in AD patients because these cells could not induce a Th1 immune response, even in the presence of a strong Th1 stimulus.Due to the prevalent initiator but complex nature of mDCs in the skin's immune system, many therapeutic approaches target these cells via modifications of their function or the surrounding tissue microenvironment, that is, topical treatment of AD with calcineurin inhibitors and corticosteroids (21,22). Therefore, it is important to develop methods that are suitable for the investigation of the direct effects of newly developed therapies on DCs. Consequently, we want to emphasise a third point: that LSC is a useful technique to monitor mDC functions in vitro. ConclusionsBecause of the low number of mDCs in the peripheral blood and the limited blood sample volume that is available, especially in childhood, it is challenging to directly investigate the function of these cells from patients. To our knowledge, we are the first to directly determine the intracellular cytokine profile and activation of circulating mDCs in AD patients using multiparametric laser scanning cytometry (LSC). Measurements utilising this slide-based technique allow for the analysis of specimens with low cell numbers (10 5 or less) but provide results with statistical relevance. Author contributions GN performed the research, did the LSC measurement, analysed the data and wrote the manuscript; DM and ZSB did the LSC measurement and analysed the data; KG contributed the blood samples, GM, AK and TD contributed to the research design, EGY, ER supervised the study, TB supervised the study and edited the manuscript, ASZ designed the study, wrote the manuscript and supervised the research group. Acknowledgements Conflict of interestsThe authors have declared no conflicting interests. Supporting InformationAdditional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article: Appendix S1. Materials and methods. Table S1. Data on patients, activation and maturation markers and cytok...

People with sensitive skin (SS) are those who state their skin is more sensitive than that of average persons. The stratum corneum is responsible for maintaining skin barrier function. Ceramides, major constituents of stratum corneum lipids, have been shown to predominantly contribute to the role. It has been suggested that barrier function in SS is decreased. However, we could find very few reports about stratum corneum ceramides in SS. This study was done to find out differences in stratum corneum ceramides between SS and non-SS groups. Fifty individuals (20 with SS and 30 with non-SS) were recruited. Lactic acid sting test (LAST) was performed on the left cheek. On six sites including the right cheek, arm, thigh, leg, back and palm, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and erythema index (EI) were measured. On the above six sites, stratum corneum sheets were obtained by stripping with cyanoacrylate resin and stratum corneum lipids were extracted, then, analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. LAST scores were higher in the SS group, but not statistically significant. There were no differences in TEWL and EI values between the two groups. The mean value of the quantity of stratum corneum ceramides on the face was significantly lower in the SS group. On other sites, mean values were also lower in the SS group, but not statistically significant. The quantity of ceramides was significantly decreased in the face of the SS group compared to that of the non-SS group. These results suggest that the decrease in stratum corneum ceramides on facial skin could be related to SS development.