18Primary cilia are a unique organelle, known to provide a signaling hub for variety of cell 19 activities. Their potential role(s) in human immune homeostasis and diseases, however, have 20 yet to be explored. Here, we show that human dendritic cells (DCs) express primary cilia-like 21 structure. The primary cilia growth during DC proliferation by GM-CSF was shut off by DC 22 maturation agents, suggesting the role of primary cilia to transduce proliferation signaling. 23PDGFRα pathway, one of proliferation signal in primary cilia, promoted DC proliferation in a 24 dependent manner of intra-flagellar transport system. In epidermis with atopic dermatitis 25 patients, aberrant ciliated langerhans cells and keratinocytes with showing immature state 26 were observed that may play a potential role in inflammation and skin barrier disorder. 27

Because sweat secretion is facilitated by mechanical contraction of sweat gland structures, understanding their structure-function relationship could lead to more effective treatments for patients with sweat gland disorders such as heat stroke. Conventional histological studies have shown that sweat glands are three-dimensionally coiled tubular structures consisting of ducts and secretory portions, although their detailed structural anatomy remains unclear. To better understand the details of the three-dimensional (3D) coiled structures of sweat glands, a whole-mount staining method was employed to visualize 3D coiled gland structures with sweat gland markers for ductal luminal, ductal basal, secretory luminal, and myoepithelial cells. Imaging the 3D coiled gland structures demonstrated that the ducts and secretory portions were comprised of distinct tubular structures. Ductal tubules were occasionally bent, while secretory tubules were frequently bent and formed a self-entangled coiled structure. Whole-mount staining of complex coiled gland structures also revealed the detailed 3D cellular arrangements in the individual sweat gland compartments. Ducts were composed of regularly arranged cuboidal shaped cells, while secretory portions were surrounded by myoepithelial cells longitudinally elongated along entangled secretory tubules. Whole-mount staining was also used to visualize the spatial arrangement of blood vessels and nerve fibers, both of which facilitate sweat secretion. The blood vessels ran longitudinally parallel to the sweat gland tubules, while nerve fibers wrapped around secretory tubules, but not ductal tubules. Taken together, whole-mount staining of sweat glands revealed the 3D cell shapes and arrangements of complex coiled gland structures and provides insights into the mechanical contraction of coiled gland structures during sweat secretion.

Primary cilia influence cell activity, and thus have a unique role in maintaining cell proliferation and differentiation. In atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis, areas of skin inflammation exhibit dysregulated keratinocyte homeostasis. The role of primary cilia in these conditions remains unclear. The objectives of this study is to elucidate the incidence of primary cilia in skin inflammation and the potential mechanism underlying the dysregulation of keratinocytes. Primary cilia were observed using immunofluorescence staining. Normal skin samples were compared with skin samples from patients with AD or psoriasis in terms of cilia numbers and length. The effect of cytokine stimulation on ciliogenesis in keratinocytes was analysed using a primary keratinocyte culture. IFT88, an important ciliary intraflagellar protein, was blocked in Th2 and Th17 cytokines‐stimulated keratinocytes. These effects were analysed with quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Significant increases in ciliated cells were observed in AD and psoriasis skin samples compared with normal skin samples. The stimulation of keratinocytes using Th2 and Th17 cytokines modulated the formation of primary cilia. The amount of IFT88 in the primary cilia associated with the phosphorylation of JNK, but not p38, in keratinocytes stimulated with interleukin‐13, 17A and 22. An increase of ciliated cells in the epidermis may impair keratinocyte differentiation under stress conditions caused by inflammation in both AD and psoriasis patients.

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Calorimetric studies were conducted on the antimicrobial action of p-hydroxybenzoate alkyl esters (parabens) , which are commomly used as preservatives in cosmetic products, and the parameters to quantitatively predict their actions on the microbial strains were determined. The result obtained was that their action on both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Klebsiella pneumoniae became stronger as the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain increased. When comparing the affinity of the drugs to both microorganisms based on the drug concentration required to inhibit growth activity by 50%, a linear relationship was observed to exist between the number of carbon atoms in an alkyl chain and the affinity. In addition, the same drug exhibited a higher effect on S. cerevisiae than on K. pneumoniae, which may be due to the difference in the membrane structures of the microorganisms.