Eosinophilic fasciitis difficult to differentiate from scleroderma:A case report

BACKGROUND Eosinophilic fasciitis(EF)is a rare connective tissue disease that can cause swelling and sclerosis of the extremities,and special attention is needed to differentiate EF from systemic sclerosis.Misdiagnosis or omission markedly delays treatment of EF,and severe skin sclerosis in advanced stages can cause joint contracture and tendon retraction,worsening the patient's prognosis and quality of life.CASE SUMMARY We report a case of EF in a young woman diagnosed by tissue biopsy,confirming the difficulty of differential diagnosis with scleroderma.CONCLUSION Focusing on skin manifestations,completing tissue biopsy and radiography can help diagnose EF effectively.Clinicians should enhance their understanding of the differences between EF and scleroderma,and early diagnosis and standardized treatment can improve the prognosis of patients with EF.

Inhibition effects of dexamethasone on matrix metalloproteinase in osteoarthritis cells

Objective:To investigate the inhibition effect of dexamethasone with different concentration gradients on the expression of MMP-1,-3,and-13 in a bone joint cell model of IL-1β-induced SW1353 cells.Methods:The SW1353 cells were placed in a culture medium containing 10^(1)-10^(8) nmol/L dexamethasone,and after 12 hours of culture,the appropriate intervention concentration range of dexamethasone was screened by the MTS for subsequent experiments.After SW1353 cells were induced with 10 ng/mL IL-1β,10^(1)-10^(7) nmol/L dexamethasone was given for intervention,and RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of MMP-1,-3,and-13.The protein was extracted after the intervention of 104 nmol/L dexamethasone,and western blot was used to detect the protein expression of MMP-1,-3,and-13.Results:MTS proliferation experiment results showed that 10^(1)-10^(7) nmol/L dexamethasone had no significant effect on SW1353 cell viability,while 10^(8) nmol/L dexamethasone had a significant inhibitory effect on SW1353(p<0.05).There was no obvious effect on cell viability after adding 10 ng/mL IL-1β.RT-PCR results indicated that the IL-1βgroup had a significant increase in the mRNA expression of MMP-1,-3,and-13 compared with the blank control group,and the difference was statistically significant(p<0.05).After intervention with 102-10^(7) nmol/L dexamethasone,MMP-1 mRNA expression decreased(p<0.05);after intervention with 103-10^(7) nmol/L dexamethasone,MMP-3 mRNA expression decreased(p<0.05);after intervention with 10-10^(7) nmol/L dexamethasone,the mRNA expression of MMP-13 decreased(p<0.05).The Western blot results showed that compared with the blank control group,the protein levels of MMP-1,-3,and-13 in the IL-1βgroup were significantly increased;the protein levels of MMP-1,-3,and-13 were significantly reduced after the intervention of 104 nmol/L dexamethasone.Conclusion:Dexamethasone can inhibit the expression of MMP1,MMP-3,and MMP-13 in the IL-1β-induced OA cell model at the mRNA and protein levels.