occupational asthma is defined as “a disease of variable airflow limitations and/or airway hyper-responsiveness due to causes and conditions attributable to a particular occupational environment and not stimuli that are being encountered outside the workplace.” an analysis of general population-based studies published up to 2007 showed that 17.6% of all adultonset asthma is due to workplace exp...

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...

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...

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K ) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma, but its mechanism has been considered indirect, through release of inflammatory cell mediators. Because airway smooth muscle (ASM) contractile hyper-responsiveness plays a critical role in asthma, the aim of the present study was to determine whether PI3K can directly regulate contractility of ASM. Immunohistoc...

Background The concept of Atopic march was developed to study the progress of Atopic Dermatitis to Allergic Rhinitis to Asthma. Epidemiologic studies have constantly demonstrated strong associations between Rhinitis and Asthma. Bronchial hyper-reactivity is an important component in the definition of Asthma. Many patients with Allergic Rhinitis have lower Airway hyperreactivity or bronchial hyp...

In vivo, the airway response to constrictor stimuli is the net result of a complex array of factors, some facilitating and some opposing airway narrowing, which makes the interpretation of bronchial challenges far from being straightforward. This review begins with a short description of the complex mechanisms of airway smooth muscle activation and force generation as the starting events for ai...

BACKGROUND The current paradigm describing asthma pathogenesis recognizes the central role of abnormal epithelial function in the generation and maintenance of the disease. However, the mechanisms responsible for the initiation of airway remodeling, which contributes to decreased lung function, remain elusive. Therefore, we aimed to determine the role of altered pulmonary gene expression in dis...