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Eiichi Hirano

Publications and source records attributed to Eiichi Hirano.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Multiple elastofibromas.

Elastofibroma is an uncommon fibroelastic tumor or tumorlike process that usually occurs between the scapula and the chest wall of elderly patients. This condition is rarely reported in the dermatologic literature, because it infrequently arises in the skin or within the subcutaneous tissue. We present a 78-year-old man with 15 separate subcutaneous nodules on the buttocks and upper extremities together with bilateral subscapular nodules. All specimens taken from different lesions were histologically confirmed as elastofibromas. As far as we know, this case with 17 distinct elastofibromas demonstrates the largest number ever reported in a single patient. Although the pathomechanism of the occurrence of multiple elastofibromas is unknown, it should be included in the differential diagnosis of multiple subcutaneous nodules.

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Expression of 36-kDa microfibril-associated glycoprotein (MAGP-36) in human keratinocytes and its localization in skin.

Microfibril-associated glycoprotein-36 (MAGP-36) is a recently isolated elastin-binding protein and considered to be a member of microfibril-associated glycoproteins (MAGPs). We studied the expression of MAGP-36 in cultured normal human keratinocytes and its localization in the skin. MAGP-36 was found to be expressed in cultured human keratinocytes by Western blot and RT-PCR assays. The levels of MAGP-36 (polypeptide and mRNA) and the number of MAGP-36-producing keratinocytes were greatly increased during Ca(2+)-induced differentiation of keratinocytes. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that MAGP-36 colocalized with elastic fibers and formed candelabra like-fibers in the superficial dermis of normal skin. In the elderly skin of sun-exposed region, immunoreactivity of MAGP-36 in the superficial dermis disappeared. In the lesional skin of pseudoxanthoma elasticum which is an elastin-related disorder, immunoreactivity of MAGP-36 was found in the accumulation of disintegrated elastic fibers. The results show that MAGP-36 is a component of elastic fibers in the dermis and co-operates with elastin in normal and diseased conditions.

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