Rhinovirus (RV) infections account for approximately two thirds of all virus-induced asthma exacerbations and often result in an impaired response to β2 agonist therapy. Using an in vitro model of RV infection, we investigated the mechanisms underlying RV-induced β2 adrenoceptor desensitization in primary human airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC). RV infection of primary human bronchial epithelia...

Salmeterol is a long-acting β2-agonist, widely used as an inhaled treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It has very high β2-affinity (log KD -8.95) and is very selective for the β2-adrenoceptor (1000-fold selectivity over the β1-adrenoceptor). This study used a mutagenesis approach to determine the exact amino acids in the human β2-adrenoceptor responsible for this very...

The role of β1- and β2-adrenergic receptor stimulation in modulating adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-regulated Cl- and Ca2+ currents was investigated with use of guinea pig ventricular myocytes. Activation of the Cl- current by the nonselective β-receptor agonist isoproterenol (Iso) was not affected by the β2-receptor antagonist ICI-118,551 (ICI), but it was blocked by the β1-recept...

Dietary fiber intake is associated with lower incidence and mortality from disease, but the underlying mechanisms of these protective effects are unclear. We hypothesized that β2→1-fructan dietary fibers confer protection on intestinal epithelial cell barrier function via Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), and we studied whether β2→1-fructan chain-length differences affect this process. T84 human int...

The aqueous humor (AH) component transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 is strongly correlated to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and was shown to up-regulate glaucoma-associated extracellular matrix (ECM) components, members of the ECM degradation system and heat shock proteins (HSP) in primary ocular cells. Here we present osteopontin (OPN) as a new TGF-β2 responsive factor in cultured human...

Neutrophils are now considered central to the pathogenesis of most forms of acute lung injury. Neutrophils do not cause damage while suspended in the bloodstream; however, a release of cytotoxic agents occurs when neutrophils are adherent to endothelium, epithelium, or extracellular matrix proteins in the interstitium. Such neutrophil adherence is mediated predominantly through β2 integrins (CD...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prognostic significance of beta2 microglobulin (β2-m) concentrations in patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disorder caused by pathologic activation of the immune system. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study population consisted of 74 patients diagnosed with HLH and 35 healthy controls. Serum β2-m levels were measured using a latex agglutination...

Emerging evidence suggests that the β2 integrin family of adhesion molecules have an important role in suppressing immune activation and inflammation. β2 integrins are important adhesion and signaling molecules that are exclusively expressed on leukocytes. The four β2 integrins (CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, and CD11d paired with the β2 chain CD18) play important roles in regulating three key aspects of...

AIM To investigate the effects of transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on transdifferentiation of human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) cultured in vitro and synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM). METHODS HLECs were treated with TGF-β2 (0, 0.5, 1.0, 5, 10µg/L) and CTGF (0, 15, 30, 60, 100µg/L) for different times (0, 24, 48, 72h) in vitro and the e...

Numerical ice sheet models use sliding laws to connect basal shear stress and velocity simulate sliding. A sliding-law parameter β2 is used control Weertman's law in numerical models. Basal reflectivity derived from ice-penetrating radar also provides information about frozen or thawed conditions underneath glaciers. To assess whether can be constrain β2, we carry out statistical experiments be...