Effect of Broccoli Sprout Extract on Keratinocyte Differentiation in Normal Skin

Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex, Pachyonychia Congenita

Adult participants will apply a broccoli sprout extract-jojoba oil compound to one arm every night under occlusion for 1 week. Jojoba oil alone will be applied to the other arm. At the end of 1 week, a 6mm punch biopsy will be taken from both arms and analyzed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry for differences in various skin proteins.

10 adult volunteers, including African American, Caucasian, male and female participants, will be recruited from parents of patients seen in the pediatric dermatology clinic. Each participant will receive 7ml of broccoli sprout extract (BSE) in jojoba oil, containing 3500nmol of sulforaphane (Please see the preparation of broccoli sprout extract below). 500nmol of sulforaphane will be applied each night. The participants will apply the BSE-jojoba oil mixture over a circle, 3cm in diameter, on the upper arm every night for 7 consecutive nights. The control arm will have only jojoba oil applied. Both arms will be occluded with saran wrap every night. After the seventh night, the volunteers will have a 6mm biopsy taken from each arm (2 total), performed by a dermatology resident. The biopsies will be cleaned with alcohol, numbed with 0.5-1cc of 1% lidocaine with epinephrine, and closed with one 4-0 nylon nonabsorbable suture. The biopsy site will be covered with Vaseline and a bandaid. The area will be kept covered for 24 hours, after which it may be washed with soap and water and then recovered with Vaseline and a bandaid. The suture will be removed 10-14 days after the procedure. From the initial visit through the final visit for suture removal, we expect the duration of the trial to last approximately 1 month. The participants will be told to avoid applying any topical medications or over the counter lotions or creams for the duration of the study and will also be told to wash with Dove soap in the shower. They will also be advised to avoid a diet high in cruciferous plants such as broccoli, mustard, and horseradish. The biopsy results will each be divided in half. One half to be frozen for cryosectioning and immunofluorescence staining and the other half to be used for protein or RNA extraction for molecular assays (real time polymerase chain reaction and/or quantitative polymerase chain reaction for select messenger RNAs and western blotting for select protein antigens). The levels of keratin 1, keratin 5, keratin 10, keratin 14, keratin 16, keratin 17, and Nrf2 will be studied with both immunofluorescence and RNA PCR.

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