Introduction & Objectives: Blood cells-(BC)count derived parameters have been inves-tigated in systemic inflammation, cancer, and various cutaneous diseases. Little is known about their usefulness in trichology, especially as prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers. We conducted a retrospective study on patients with not-cicatricial alopecia to assess differences in BC-count. Materials & Methods: Patients with alopecia areata (AA), telogen effluvium (TE), androgenic alopecia (AGA), psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) were included in the study. Baseline complete BC-count and derived parameters (i.e. NLR, PLR, MLR, SII; PIV) were recorded and analyzed for each patient and at different timepoints for AA patients on systemic agents. Results: 170 patients fulfilled inclusion criteria. BC-count and derived values were similar across the not-cicatricial alopecia groups, while general differences were observed compared to psoriasis and HS. TE displayed a closer inflammatory signature to psoriasis with respect to CRP, NLR, MLR, SII and PIV. We also found a significant reduction in RBCs in severe versus patchy-AA and an increase of SII in acute versus chronic AA. Modulation of platelet number and volume could be used as therapeutic marker in AA. Conclusions: In our experience, the BC-count and its derived parameters could represent potential tools in AA and TE.

The Sry-related HMG-box (Sox) family is a group of transcriptional regulators that play a critical role in many important developmental processes in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In aquatic animals, the function of Sox genes on sexual development has been gained particular attentions. The present study reported the molecular characterization of a Sox member (PtSoxE) in the swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus, and tissue distribution analysis showed it was male-specific. Since the most highly expression of PtSoxE was found in the androgenic gland (AG), its relation to the insulin-like androgenic gland hormone (IAG) was further investigated. The PtSoxE siRNA caused a significant decrease in IAG expression in both AG and testis, whereas PtSoxE expression could be induced by treating with AG homogenate and rIAG. The result suggested a transcriptional interaction between PtSoxE and IAG. In addition, PtSoxE expression showed a closely positive correlation with several reported spermatogenesis-related genes, suggesting its involvement in testicular development of P. trituberculatus.