Neuropilin-2 (NRP2), a cell surface receptor involved in angiogenesis and axonal guidance, has recently been shown to be a critical mediator of tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis. Given that lymphangiogenesis is a major conduit of metastasis in melanomas and that blocking NRP2 function in vivo is effective in inhibiting tumor cell metastasis, we sought to determine the clinical relevance of NRP2 expression in cutaneous melanoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of NRP2 expression was evaluated in nevomelanocytic proliferations that included a tissue microarray (TMA) and histologic sections (HS) from samples of primary melanomas (n=42; 40 TMA, 2 HS), metastatic melanomas (n=30; 22TMA, 8 HS) and nevi (n=30; 5 TMA, 25HS), as well as a panel of normal human tissues and select non-melanocytic tumors. Staining for grading and intensity of NRP2 expression was estimated semi-quantitatively as follows for the former: <20%, 20-60% and >60% of tissue present and, for the latter from 0-3 with 3 being the highest and 0 the lowest intensity. In nevomelanocytic proliferations, >20% staining for NRP2 was noted in 36/42 cases (86%) of primary melanoma, in 27/30 cases (90%) of metastatic melanoma and in 9/30 cases (30%) of nevi with differences achieving statistical significance between melanoma (primary and metastatic) and nevi (p<0.0001). For staining intensity, an intensity of 2 or more was noted in 36/42 cases (86%) of primary melanoma, in 17/30 cases (57%) of metastatic melanoma and in 7/23 (30%) of nevi with differences achieving statistical significance between melanoma (primary and metastatic) and nevi (p<0.0001). In normal human tissue, consistently strong NRP2 staining was noted in kidney (glomerular endothelial cells, collecting tubules and collecting ducts), skin (epidermal keratinocytes) and testes (epithelium of the seminiferous tubules), while in tumoral tissue, consistently strong staining was noted only in renal cell carcinoma but not in any of the other tumors studied. More recently, using a heterotypic co-culture methodology with melanoma and endothelial cells, we have demonstrated successful up-regulation of NRP2 and confirmed the critical role of NRP2 in melanoma-endothelial interactions. Since these co-culture methods were developed to model melanoma metastasis, the significantly increased and enhanced expression of NRP2 staining in primary and metastatic melanoma versus nevi in the current study suggests that it is also relevant in vivo.

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Background: Vitiligo is a disease that occurs due to dysfunction in the autoimmune system that attacks the skin pigment cells (melanocytes) leading to the appearance of light-colored spots on the skin. Objective:The study was carried out to investigate the effect of smart devices on the children inflicted with vitiligo, and the correlation of vitiligo with other factors such as performance in the school, the marital status of their parents, type of smart devices (games, YouTube), and others. Materials and Methods:The study was carried out on 49 children diagnosed with vitiligo in Nassiriah City, Iraq. The data of all the variable factors were collected and classified according to the types of smart applications (YouTube and/or games), the status of their parents, and hours spent on using these applications. Results: The collected data were analyzed into five figures; according to the children's performance in the school and the highest percentage were in the no failure category, or in the high achiever category constituting 38.77% to each one. The percentage of children who lives with both parents is 79.5%. Most of the affected children are the 2nd in order in their families representing 40.8% of children under study. The number of diseased children who use YouTube are 23, their percentage is the highest constituting 46.94%. Conclusions: Seven conclusions were drawn in this novel study, among them are; that most of the affected children are 2nd in order in their families, and the highest percent of the affected children with vitiligo are those who use YouTube.