The aim of the current study was to establish the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligand expression profile in human airway epithelial cells exposed to either particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 microm (PM(2.5)) or its components and the involvement of EGFR ligands in PM(2.5)-provoked airway inflammation. EGFR ligand mRNA and protein expression were studied in a hu...

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease characterised by a deficit in epithelial Cl(-) secretion which in the lung leads to airway dehydration and a reduced Airway Surface Liquid (ASL) height. The endogenous lipoxin LXA(4) is a member of the newly identified eicosanoids playing a key role in ending the inflammatory process. Levels of LXA(4) are reported to be decreased in the airways of patie...

BACKGROUND Induced sputum potentially allows monitoring of airway inflammation in patients with asthma in a non-invasive way. However, the relationship between the cellular content in sputum and airway tissue has not been fully clarified. OBJECTIVE We compared the cellular compositions of hypertonic saline-induced sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and bronchial biopsies in 18 clinica...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a major role in the metabolism of bradykinin, angiotensin, and neuropeptides, which are all implicated in inflammatory airway diseases. The activity of ACE, which is localized on the luminal surface of endothelial cells (EC), has been well documented in pulmonary EC; however, few data exist regarding the relative activity of ACE in the airway vasculatur...

Airway remodeling, including subepithelial fibrosis, is a characteristic feature of asthma and likely contributes to the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness. We examined expression of genes related to airway wall fibrosis in a model of chronic allergen-induced airway dysfunction using laser capture microdissection and quantitative real-time PCR. BALB/c mice were sensitized and subjected ...

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease with functional and structural changes, leading to bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airflow obstruction. Airway structural changes or airway remodelling consist of epithelial injury, goblet cell hyperplasia, subepithelial layer thickening, airway smooth muscle hyperplasia and angiogenesis. These changes were previously considered as a consequence...

bronchial asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease and is characterized by chronic airway inflammation, airway remodeling, and airway hyperreactivity (ahr). aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mitochondrial atp-sensitive potassium channels (mitokatp) on the proliferation and secretion of human airway smooth muscle cells (hasmcs). hasmcs were treated with the serum from ...

This study tested the hypothesis that intrathoracic bronchi intermittently constrict during coughing and attempted to elucidate the effect on explosive flow. The subjects were 21 dogs having undergone tracheostomy. In the first group A (n = 7), the diameter of the fifth-generation bronchus was measured with a balloon-tipped catheter and the change during coughing was analyzed. In the other grou...

I n recent years there has been special focus on the increased occurrence of asthma and bronchial responsiveness among top athletes within endurance sports. As early as 1989, an increase in nonspecific bronchial responsiveness after heavy endurance training was found in young competitive swimmers [1]. Later, reports were made concerning increased prevalence of asthma and bronchial hyperresponsi...

Bronchial responsiveness assessed by histamine bronchial challenge testing in 22 children with chronic stable asthma was compared with the number of inflammatory cells per milliliter of broncholavage fluid obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Hyperresponsiveness was closely correlated with increased counts of eosinophils and macrophages and with the ratio of eosinophils to macrophages. There wa...