Telocytes (TCs) newly discovered as the mesenchyme-derived interstitial cells were found to have supportive effects on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The present study aimed at investigating effects of TCs or TCs gathered with MSCs on experimental airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. The TCs were isolated from the lung tissue of the female BALB/c mice. The ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthm...

Airway hyper-responsiveness associated with asthma is mediated by airway smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and has a complicated etiology involving increases in cell contraction and proliferation and the secretion of inflammatory mediators. Although these pathological changes are diverse, a common feature associated with their regulation is a change in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i))....

There is a need to better understand the mechanism of airway hyper-reactivity, a key feature of asthma. Evidence suggests that sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) could be a major player in this phenomenon. The purpose of this work was to define the S1P receptor responsible for this phenomenon. We have studied, in the rat, the effect of two S1P synthetic receptor ligands, 2-amino-2-[2-(4-octylphenyl)...

Asthma is a complex disease of airway inflammation, which results in airway remodeling and hyper-responsiveness.1 Because asthma-related symptoms are not specific to asthma, diagnosis requires objective data from pulmonary function tests (PFT). Bronchodilator responsiveness and airway responsiveness to provocational stimuli (eg, methacholine, dry-gas hyperpnea) help establish the diagnosis of a...

Airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) associated with heightened airway resistance and inflammation is a characteristic feature of asthma. It has been demonstrated that contractile responsiveness and Ca(2+) sensitization to acetylcholine (ACh) in repeated antigen challenge-induced airway hyper-responsive bronchial preparation were significantly increased. The CPI-17 (PKC-potentiated inhibitory prot...

KEY POINTS Transforming growth-factor-β (TGF-β) and RhoA/Rho-kinase are independently implicated in the airway hyper-responsiveness associated with asthma, but how these proteins interact is not fully understood. We examined the effects of pre-treatment with TGF-β on expression and activity of RhoA, Rho-kinase and ARHGEF1, an activator of RhoA, as well as on bradykinin-induced contraction, in a...

Airways hyper-responsiveness (AHR) is found in almost every patient with asthma. The degree of AHR is variable between individuals with asthma and can correlate to the severity of the underlying asthma. Equally treatment of asthma can modify the degree of underlying AHR. Measures of Airway hyper-responsiveness or bronchial challenge testing are therefore important in both the assessment and man...

The cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in airway hyper-responsiveness are unclear. Current studies suggest that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, a cytokine that is produced in considerable quantities in asthmatic airways, may potentially be involved in the development of bronchial hyper-responsiveness by directly altering the contractile properties of the airway smooth muscle...

Inhalational insulin was withdrawn from the market due to its potential to produce airway hyper-reactivity and bronchoconstriction. So the present study was designed to explore the acute effects of insulin on airway reactivity of guinea pigs and protective effects of salbutamol and beclomethasone against insulin induced airway hyper-responsiveness on isolated tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pi...