Lung inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of airway disease in cystic fibrosis (CF). An imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators has been observed and a deficiency in the anti-inflammatory response has been proposed, but this concept remains controversial. In the present study, the concentrations of two anti-inflammatory mediators, lipoxin A (LxA4) and Clara cell ...

BACKGROUND New therapies for asthma which can address three main interrelated features of the disease, airway inflammation, airway remodeling and airway hyperreactivity, are urgently required. Resveratrol, a well known red wine polyphenol has received much attention due to its potential anti-aging properties. This compound is an agonist of silent information regulator two histone deacetylases a...

In obstructive lung diseases, airway inflammation leads to bronchospasm and thus resistive breathing, especially during exacerbations. This commentary discusses experimental evidence that resistive breathing per se (the mechanical stimulus) in the absence of underlying airway inflammation leads to lung injury and inflammation (mechanotransduction). The potential implications of resistive breath...

Smoking cessation is the only treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) effective in slowing down disease progression. Its effect on airway inflammation in COPD is unknown, although cross-sectional studies suggest ongoing inflammation in ex-smokers. In order to elucidate the effect of smoking cessation on airway inflammation, 28 smokers with COPD (mean age: 55 yrs;...

We have examined the effects of a PAF receptor antagonist, WEB 2170, on several indices of acute and chronic airway inflammation and associated changes in lung function in a primate model of allergic asthma. A single oral administration WEB 2170 provided dose related inhibition of the release of leukotriene C(4) (LTC(4)) and prostaglandin D(2) (PGD(2)) recovered and quantified in bronchoalveola...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and remodeling. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors have been reported to regulate inflammatory responses in many cells. In this study, we examined the effects of intranasal rosiglitazone on airway remodeling in a chronic asthma model. METHODS We developed a mouse model of airway remodeling, including...

Pulmonary disease is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF). Most patients with CF die from respiratory failure with extensive airway destruction. Airway remodelling, defined as structural airway wall changes, begins early in life in CF but the sequence of remodelling events in the disease process is poorly understood. Airway remodelling in CF has traditiona...

Increases in bone-marrow (BM) inflammatory cell progenitors are associated with allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in asthmatics and dogs. Here, for the first time, we compare the time course of airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and marrow progenitor responses in a mouse model of airway allergen challenge. Sensitized BALB/c mice were studied at 2, 12, 24, 48, a...

Asthma is a condition characterized by variable airflow obstruction, airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation which is usually, but not invariably, eosinophilic. Current thoughts on the pathogenesis of asthma are focused on the idea that it is caused by an inappropriate response of the specific immune system to harmless antigens, particularly allergens such as cat dander and ho...

BACKGROUND Nutritional depletion is an important manifestation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has been related to systemic inflammation. It remains unclear to what degree airway inflammation contributes to the presence or progression of nutritional depletion. OBJECTIVES To determine whether airway inflammation and lung bacterial colonization are related to nutritional ...