BACKGROUND Airway hyperresponsiveness to non-specific stimuli is one characteristic feature of airway diseases such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis. Until now, studies aiming to demonstrate a relationship between in vivo conditions associated with airway hyperreactivity and in vitro airway responsiveness have been inconclusive. OBJECTIVE Since serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E is believe...

BACKGROUND Childhood hospitalization related to asthma remains at historically high levels, and its incidence is on the rise world-wide. Previously, we have demonstrated that aldose reductase (AR), a regulatory enzyme of polyol pathway, is a major mediator of allergen-induced asthma pathogenesis in mouse models. Here, using AR null (AR-/-) mice we have investigated the effect of AR deficiency o...

Van Scott, Michael R., J. Paul Justice, John F. Bradfield, Edward Enright, Anastasia Sigounas, and Sanjiv Sur. IL-10 reduces Th2 cytokine production and eosinophilia but augments airway reactivity in allergic mice. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 278: L667–L674, 2000.—We investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-10 administration on allergen-induced Th2 cytokine production, eosinophilic i...

In order to examine the hypothesis that bronchial reactivity to non-specific constrictor stimuli is influenced by the resting tone of the bronchial smooth muscle, the airway responses to inhaled histamine solution and inhaled isoprenaline were measured in 19 patients with airway obstruction. There was a significant positive correlation between the size of the constrictor response to histamine a...

The temporal origins of childhood asthma are incompletely understood. We hypothesize that allergen sensitization which begins in early infancy causes IgE-mediated airway and vascular remodeling, and airway hyper-responsiveness. Mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) without or with anti-IgE antibody from postnatal day (P) 10 through P42. We studied airway resistance in response to Methacholi...

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...