Half of the severe asthma patients suffer from uncontrolled exacerbations. Our work in neuro-immunology has shown that, context asthma, vagal nociceptor neurons drive a feed-forward inflammatory loop with lung immune cells, and that silencing these reverses allergic airway inflammation (AAI). Here, we aim to expand findings clinically relevant model pollution exacerbated asthma. Experimental al...

To identify basic mechanisms of how infections may induce a neuron-specific autoimmune response, we generated mice expressing OVA as neuronal autoantigen under control of the neuron-specific enolase promoter (NSE-OVA mice). Intracerebral, but not systemic, infection with attenuated Listeria monocytogenes-secreting OVA induced an atactic-paretic neurological syndrome in NSE-OVA mice after bacter...

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of chlorine dioxide gas for environmental decontamination of Syphacia spp. ova. We collected Syphacia ova by perianal cellophane tape impression of pinworm-infected mice. Tapes with attached ova were exposed to chlorine dioxide gas for 1, 2, 3, or 4 h. After gas exposure, ova were incubated in hatching medium for 6 h to promote hatching. For...

Obesity is a known risk factor for allergic asthma. It has been recognized as a key player in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory disorders via activation of macrophages, which is also vital to the development of allergic asthma. We investigated the mechanism of obesity-related asthma and whether treating obesity through exercise or diet ameliorates the severity of asthma in the obesity-re...

This paper introduces OVA+, an on-line interface for the analysis of arguments. It is the result of an attempt to provide a tool relying on the Argument Interchange Format theory and Inference Anchoring Theory schemes.

Background: Particulate matter 10 (PM10; airborne particles <10 ?m) inhalation has been demonstrated to induce airway and lung diseases. In this study, we investigate the effects of PM10 on RNA expression in tissues using a murine model. Methods: Female BALB/c mice were affected with PM10, ovalbumin (OVA), or both OVA PM10. was administered intranasally while intraperitoneally injected administ...

Increasing evidence suggests that macrophages (Mphi) play a crucial downregulatory role in the initiation and progression of allergic asthma. Recently, the current authors demonstrated that ovalbumin (OVA)-loaded Mphi (OVA-Mphi) suppress subsequent OVA-induced airway manifestations of asthma and that this effect could be potentiated upon selective activation. In the present study, the authors f...

PURPOSE Antigen (Ag)-presenting cells (APCs) participate in the development of allergic conjunctivitis (AC). However, the conjunctival APCs that take up Ag in AC have not been identified. We sought to clarify the phenotypes of conjunctival APCs that take up, process, and present Ag to T cells during the development of experimental AC. METHODS Splenocytes from naïve ovalbumin (OVA)-specific T ...

Background: In previous works we demonstrated that subcutaneous sensitization with Ovalbumin (OVA) induce generation of specific IgE antibodies and modifications of immune cells populations in different mucosal sites in rabbit. The aim of the study was the evaluation of OVA specific lymphoproliferation in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), spleen and Peyer’s patch from OVA orally and subcutaneous s...

Human spermatozoa are initially incapable of penetrating zona pellucida-free animal (hamster) ova but gain the ability to do so when incubated several hours in vitro. Experimental evidence suggests that this ability is associated with the completion of sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction. Thus it appears that zona-free animal ova can be substituted for human ova in the preliminary asse...