OBJECTIVES Th2 response is related to the aetiology of asthma, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. To address this point, the effect of nebulized inhalation of inactivated Mycobacterium phlei on modulation of asthmatic airway inflammation was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS 24 male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups: control group (Group A), asthma model group (Group...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological evidence suggests that hookworm infection protects against asthma. However, for ethical and safety reasons, before testing this hypothesis in a clinical trial in asthma it is necessary to establish whether experimental hookworm infection might exacerbate airway responsiveness during larval lung migration. OBJECTIVE To determine whether hookworm larval migration thro...

In a previous study we determined that BcA86 mice, a strain belonging to a panel of AcB/BcA recombinant congenic strains, have an airway responsiveness phenotype resembling mice from the airway hyperresponsive A/J strain. The majority of the BcA86 genome is however from the hyporesponsive C57BL/6J strain. The aim of this study was to identify candidate regions and genes associated with airway h...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Airway inflammation stimulates proliferation of airway smooth muscle cell, which contributes to the development of hyperplasia and hypertrophy of smooth muscle cell. The increase in airway smooth muscle cell mass is believed to be due to an up-regulation of inflammatory mediators in the airway. It is now well recognized that chronic inflammation as well as airway hyper-...

In the European Community Respiratory Health Study (ECRHS), airway responsiveness to methacholine was determined using the Mefar dosimeter protocol. Elsewhere, the 2-min tidal breathing method has become the preferred standardized method. The relationship between measurements of responsiveness by these two methods is not well established. This study measured airway responsiveness to methacholin...

Repeated aerosolized antigen challenges to brown Norway (BN) rats generate nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). On the other hand, some studies have demonstrated that repeated antigen challenge could attenuate antigen-specific AHR in BN rats. The authors questioned whether such dissociation in airway responses actually occurs when assessed in a single study in the same animals. The aut...

AIMS To examine early adverse pulmonary effects of exposure to cotton dust, and to identify potential risk factors, including atopy for pulmonary responses to cotton dust. METHODS Spirometry, methacholine challenge testing, and questionnaire; performed among 101 non-smoking newly hired textile workers at baseline (prior to starting work), and at 3, 12, and 18 months after starting work. Conce...

or indirect challenges with inhaled mannitol 2 or exercise 3 is important in establishing a correct diagnosis. This is particularly true in excluding asthma as a diagnosis in patients with symptoms that suggest asthma, but are caused by another condition. This is because airway hyperresponsiveness measurements are very sensitive in determining a diagnosis of asthma (therefore, they have a high ...