Search results for "AIRWAY INFLAMMATION"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Cellular network in airways inflammation and remodelling
2002
Chronic inflammation and airway remodelling are two key steps in asthma pathophysiology. The development of chronic airway inflammation depends upon the continuous recruitment of inflammatory cells from the bloodstream towards the bronchial mucosa and by their subsequent functional activation. The release of inflammatory mediators by activated cells contributes to the generation of a complex network which involves mobile inflammatory cells and structural cells such as epithelial cells, fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. This network is responsible for the amplification and persistence of the inflammatory process as well as for the development of a peculiar microenvironment which can directly m…
The effect of different periods of argon deaeration on exhaled breath condensate pH.
2011
Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH has been considered as a biomarker of airway inflammation in asthma. However, little information is available on the duration of argon deaeration required to achieve a stable pH in EBC samples.To identify differences in EBC pH after argon deaeration for 2, 4, and 8 min.EBC pH was determined in EBC samples from 48 subjects with allergic rhinitis (11 asthmatics) and 14 healthy volunteers without deaeration and after argon deaeration for 2, 4, and 8 min.The mean (95% CI) pH values obtained from samples analyzed after 4 min [7.66 (7.52-7.80)] and 8 min [7.70 (7.55-7.85)] of argon deaeration were significantly less acidic (p.001) than those identified after 2 m…
Airway inflammation in healthy smokers
2012
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor associated with lung cancer and many other neoplasms of various organs, coronary artery disease and numerous vascular disorders, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other types of lung diseases [13]. Much work has been done on the in vitro and ex vivo carcinogenetic effects of tobacco smoking while the effects of smoking on innate and adaptive immune function have been studied to a lesser degree. Recent data suggests that cigarette smoke alters the functions of the immune system and increases susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections [4-6]. In the respiratory system along the last years many studies have depicted the changes induced by …
Bronchial responsiveness and airway inflammation in trained subjects
2008
We read with interest the paper by Shaaban and coworkers1 on the protective effect of physical activity against bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) in the general population. The authors suggest that a beneficial effect of deep inspirations during exercise could account for the lower prevalence of BHR in physically active subjects compared with sedentary subjects, while the accompanying editorial2 favours an “anti-inflammatory” effect of exercise as the most plausible explanation. We have studied lung function and airway cell biology …
Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide: Comparison of different analysers
2010
Background and objective: Exhaled nitric oxide (NO) is used as a surrogate marker to monitor eosinophilic airway inflammation, assist in diagnosis, and support treatment decisions for asthma patients. The aim of this study was to compare five NO analysers: Medisoft (M), Aerocrine Niox (N), Aerocrine Niox flex (NF), Aerocrino Niox mino (NM) and EcoMedics (E). Methods: In 85 subjects (25 asthma patients, 25 COPD patients, 35 healthy volunteers; median age 36.5 years, range 23–79, 47% female), three NO measurements per individual were performed, using each analyser according to the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines. Subjects evaluated the devices on the basis …
IFN-gamma-induced protein 10 is a novel biomarker of rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations
2007
BACKGROUND: Rhinovirus-induced acute asthma is the most frequent trigger for asthma exacerbations. OBJECTIVE: We assessed which inflammatory mediators were released from bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) after infection with rhinovirus and then determined whether they were also present in subjects with acute virus-induced asthma, with the aim to identify a biomarker or biomarkers for acute virus-induced asthma. METHODS: BECs were obtained from bronchial brushings of steroid-naive asthmatic subjects and healthy nonatopic control subjects. Cells were infected with rhinovirus 16. Inflammatory mediators were measured by means of flow cytometry with a cytometric bead array. Subjects with acute a…
Efficiency of Biolistic DNA Vaccination in Experimental Type I Allergy
2012
Gene gun-mediated delivery of allergen-encoding plasmid DNA has been in focus for many years now as being a needle-free alternative to the protein-based desensitization regimen used in specific immunotherapy. Biolistic immunization with the Helios gene gun has proven to be potent in the induction of antigen-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Here we describe biolistic vaccination in experimental mouse models of IgE-mediated type I allergy as well as allergen-induced airway inflammation.
Exercise-induced changes in airway cells
2007
The asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS): hype or reality? That is, a curiosity for the media or an opportunity for physicians?
2014
Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome (ACOS) has been recently defined as a new pathological entity. Most studies support a large difference in the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is evidence of an increasing prevalence of patients in whom the two diseases coexist or in which one condition evolves into the other, leading to the pathological condition named ACOS. This occurs mainly in individuals with long-standing asthma, especially if also current or former-smokers. Indeed, epidemiological studies show that aging is one of the main risk factors for ACOS, creating the basis for the two entities to converge on the same subject. It i…