We estimated the pharmacological efficacy of vitamin K (VK ) and VK on the mitogen-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of paediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. VK suppressed the in vitro proliferation of T-cell mitogen-activated PBMCs of AD patients. In contrast, VK had little effect on the PBMC proliferation. The IL-2 production from the activated PBMCs of AD patients significantly increased (P < .05), while the production significantly decreased by 100 μmol L VK (P < .01). In addition, 100 μmol L VK reduced the percentage of CD4+ and CD4+CD25+ cells in PBMCs. These results suggest that VK2 can modulate T-cell function in PBMCs of AD patients.
PurposeFew studies have compared fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurement by NIOX VERO® (NOV) and other devices in children. Moreover, there is no agreement between differences in FeNO values obtained using different devices in adults. Here, we compared FeNO values obtained using NOV and NObreath® (NOB) systems to derive a correction equation for children.MethodsEighty-eight participants (age 7–15 years) who were diagnosed with atopic bronchial asthma and visited Sagamihara National Hospital as outpatients between January and April of 2017 were included. We measured FeNO values obtained using NOB and NOV, and analyzed them using Wilcoxon tests and Altman-Bland plots.ResultsThe median age of the participants was 11.5 years, and the scored Asthma Control Test (ACT) or Childhood ACT (C-ACT) was 25 (interquartile range, 24–25) or 26 (24–27). NOB and NOV values were significantly different (31 [14–52] versus 36 [20–59] ppb; P = 0.020) and strongly correlated (r = 0.92). An equation to convert NOB values into NOV values was derived using linear regression as follows: log NOV = 0.7329 × log NOB + 0.4704; NOB for 20, 40, 58, 80 and 100 ppb corresponded to NOV for 27, 44, 59, 73 and 86 ppb. Thus, NOB < 58 ppb suggested NOB < NOV, whereas NOB > 58 ppb suggested NOB > NOV.ConclusionsNOB and NOV values were strongly correlated. Participants whose FeNO values were relatively low represented NOB < NOV, whereas those whose FeNO values were relatively high represented NOB > NOV.
BackgroundOver 20 kinds of steroids, tacrolimus ointments, and cyclosporine capsules are usually recommended for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), depending on the symptoms of patients. However, several side effects sometimes occur with the extensive use of these agents for the treatment of pediatric AD patients. The purpose of this study was to explore whether vitamin K2 could be a new immunosuppressive candidate for pediatric patients with AD.MethodsThe immunosuppressive efficacy of vitamin K2 was evaluated through a cell‐culture procedure using mitogen‐activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from pediatric AD patients.ResultsThe mean (SD) IC50 value of vitamin K2 for the proliferation of concanavalin A‐activated PBMCs was 15.37 (30.05) μmol/L, while the value for tacrolimus was 0.10 (0.28) ng/mL (0.12 (0.35) nmol/L). There was a significant correlation between the IC50 values for vitamin K2 and those for tacrolimus (P = 0.0001, r = 0.8871). However, there was no significant correlation between the IC50 values of vitamin K2 and those of cyclosporine A or methylprednisolone. A significant correlation between the IC50 values of vitamin K2 or tacrolimus and blood eosinophil counts (P = 0.0099, r = 0.7086 and P = 0.0032, r = 0.7722, respectively) was observed.ConclusionVitamin K2‐inhibited T‐cell mitogen stimulated proliferation of PBMCs from pediatric AD patients in a dose‐dependent manner. The PBMCs from pediatric AD patients were more sensitive to the immunosuppressive efficacy of vitamin K2 than the PBMCs from healthy subjects. The individual immunosuppressive pharmacological efficacy of vitamin K2 and of tacrolimus could be inferred from the blood eosinophil count of pediatric AD patients.
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