Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0018133 (graft-versus-host disease)
 18,032 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The therapeutic spectrum for ultraviolet radiation treatment of skin disease has continued to be broadened. Psoralen photochemotherapy is beneficial in chronic lichenoid graft-versus-host disease and disseminated granuloma annulare. This treatment is now being found more useful in atopic eczema and chronic photosensitivity with some modifications of the therapy. UV phototherapy has also been found useful in mild to moderate atopic eczema. The nature of these treatments is also changing with greater use of selective UV phototherapy and definition of the required schedule for maintenance treatment with UVB phototherapy. The mechanism of therapeutic benefit remains unknown although one possibility is selective phototoxicity for inflammatory cells in the dermis. Nonmelanoma skin cancer, premature aging of the skin and freckling are the main long-term adverse effects of these treatments.
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PMID:Recent advances in phototherapy and photochemotherapy of skin disease. 208 2

Face vascularized composite allografts (FVCAs) have helped patients with severe facial disfigurement, with acute rejection now largely controlled through iatrogenic immunosuppression. However, little is known regarding the incidence and mechanism(s) of more long-term pathologic alterations in FVCAs that may affect function and graft durability. Protocol surveillance biopsy specimens for up to an 8-year interval in 7 patients who received FVCAs at our institution revealed histopathologic evidence of chronic rejection. Clinical manifestations included features of premature aging, mottled leukoderma accentuating suture lines, telangiectasia, and dryness of nasal mucosa. Pathologic changes consisted of epidermal thinning accompanied by discrete foci of lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity, hyperkeratosis, follicular plugging, vascular ectasia, and sclerosis beneath the epidermal layer associated with collagen type I deposition. Genomic interrogation and immunohistochemistry of sclerotic zones revealed upregulation of the AP-1 pathway components, JunB and c-Fos, previously implicated in overproduction of type I dermal collagen in the setting of systemic sclerosis. We conclude that some patients develop chronic rejection in FVCAs with striking similarities to alterations seen in certain autoimmune cutaneous disorders (lupus erythematosus and scleroderma/chronic sclerodermoid graft-versus-host disease). Identification of relevant pathways and genes, such as JunB and c-Fos, may provide new targets for preventative therapies for chronic immune-mediated changes in vascularized composite allografts.
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PMID:Chronic rejection of human face allografts. 3031 35