Tag: Blood

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Reduced Blood Lead Levels, Increasing Cases of Asthma in Children: Survey – Counsel & Heal


Counsel & Heal

Reduced Blood Lead Levels, Increasing Cases of Asthma in Children: Survey
Counsel & Heal
According to recent figures disclosed by the government's Environment Protection Agency (EPA), there is an unprecedented reduction in the levels of lead in blood; however, there is also a marked increase in asthma cases among children. "The latest …

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CD44 variant isoforms are specifically expressed on peripheral blood lymphocytes from asthmatic patients.

CD44 variant isoforms are specifically expressed on peripheral blood lymphocytes from asthmatic patients.

Exp Ther Med. 2012 Jul;4(1):79-83

Authors: Yang C, Liang H, Zhao H, Jiang X

Abstract
Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation, and Th2 cells play a critical role in initiating and sustaining asthmatic inflammation. It has been shown that CD44 expressed on CD4(+) T cells plays a critical role in the accumulation of antigen-specific Th2 cells in the development of airway hyperresponsiveness induced by antigen challenge in the airways. The aim of this study was to determine whether there are specific CD44 variant isoforms (CD44v) expressed on lymphocytes from asthmatic patients. We collected whole blood samples from 103 normal subjects, 165 subjects with asthma and 104 with pneumonia. Peripheral blood lymphocyte isolation was performed, and total RNA was extracted from the isolated lymphocytes, using nested PCR for specific CD44v amplification on lymphocytes. Demographic variables were analyzed using linear regression in order to determine whether the expression of CD44v was correlated with these demographic features. The nested PCR results revealed that CD44v5 was expressed by 55.2% of asthma patients, which was significantly higher than levels of expression in the other groups. Lower percentages of individuals in the normal subject group exhibited expression of CD44v5 and CD44v6. The data demonstrated that the percentage of individuals in the pneumonia group expressing CD44v5 was 29.0%, but a higher percentage of these patients expressed CD44v6. CD44v5 expression was positively correlated with IgE levels (p=0.032) in the asthmatic patient group, and CD44v6 was significantly positively correlated with the neutrophil count (p<0.05). CD44v5 was expressed by a higher proportion of asthmatic patients than other subjects and thus may play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. These findings may offer a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and may also provide insights into the mechanisms of asthma development.

PMID: 23060926 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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Restoration of Corticosteroid Sensitivity by p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Inhibition in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Severe Asthma.

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Restoration of Corticosteroid Sensitivity by p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Inhibition in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Severe Asthma.

PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e41582

Authors: Mercado N, Hakim A, Kobayashi Y, Meah S, Usmani OS, Chung KF, Barnes PJ, Ito K

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Severe asthma accounts for a small number of asthmatics but represents a disproportionate cost to health care systems. The underlying mechanism in severe asthma remains unknown but several mechanisms are likely to be involved because of a very heterogeneous profile. We investigated the effects of a p38MAPK inhibitor in corticosteroid sensitivity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from severe asthmatics and the profile of its responders.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Corticosteroid sensitivity was determined by measuring dexamethasone inhibition of CD3/28 and TNF-? induced IL-8 production in PBMCs by using ELISA. PBMCs from severe asthmatics were relatively less sensitive to dexamethasone (Dex) as compared to those of non-severe asthmatics and healthy volunteers. The IC(50) values of Dex negatively correlated with decreased glucocorticoid receptor (GR) nuclear translocation assessed using immunocytochemistry (r?=?-0.65; p<0.0005) and with decreased FEV(1) (% predicted) (r?=?0.6; p<0.0005). A p38?/? inhibitor (SB203580) restored Dex-sensitivity in a subpopulation of severe asthma that was characterized by a defective GR nuclear translocation, clinically by lower FEV(1) and higher use of oral prednisolone. We also found that SB203580 partially inhibited GR phosphorylation at serine 226, resulting in increased GR nuclear translocation in IL-2/IL-4 treated corticosteroid insensitive U937s.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: p38MAPK?/? is involved in defective GR nuclear translocation due to phosphorylation at Ser226 and this will be a useful biomarker to identify responders to p38MAPK?/? inhibitor in the future.

PMID: 22911818 [PubMed – in process]

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Chlamydophila pneumonia inhibits the corticosteroid-induced suppressions of metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Chlamydophila pneumonia inhibits the corticosteroid-induced suppressions of metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

J Med Microbiol. 2012 Jan 26;

Authors: Park CS, Lee YS, Kwon HS, Lee TH, Kim TB, Moon KA, Yoo B, Moon HB, Cho YS

Abstract
Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection has been suggested to be associated with severe asthma characterized by persistent airway limitation, which may be related to airway remodeling. We investigated whether C. pneumoniae infection affected the secretion of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP1), and altered the responsiveness of inflammatory cells to corticosteroids. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were cultured in vitro in the presence or absence of C. pneumoniae. Secretion of both MMP9 and TIMP1 was strongly suppressed by dexamethasone treatment in uninfected cells. MMP9 secretion was also significantly inhibited by dexamethasone in C. pneumoniae-infected cells, but TIMP1 secretion was not; hence the MMP9 to TIMP1 ratio decreased. Interestingly, expression of human glucocorticoid receptor (GR)?, which is believed to confer resistance to corticosteroids, was enhanced by dexamethasone treatment in C. pneumoniae-infected PBMC. We conclude that C. pneumoniae infection may promote airway remodeling by decreasing the ratio of MMP9 to TIMP1 secreted by inflammatory cells, and by altering cellular responsiveness to corticosteroids.

PMID: 22282461 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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[Lipid composition of cells and low-density lipoproteins in blood serum of humans and some vertebrates species].

[Lipid composition of cells and low-density lipoproteins in blood serum of humans and some vertebrates species].

Zh Evol Biokhim Fiziol. 2011 Sep-Oct;47(5):365-74

Authors:

Abstract
To investigate interaction of atherogenic low-density lipoproteins (LDL) with erythrocytic membrane, the content of lipid components in blood cells and serum LDL was studied in human in norm (donors) and in 12 species of vertebrates (the mammals non-predisposed to atherosclerosis – birds and fish). Lipid composition of blood cells and LDL was analyzed also in patients with pathologies: ischemic heart disease (IHD), bronchial asthma (BA), and chronic obstructive bronchitis (COB), and in 2 species of mammals predisposed to atherosclerosis, in whose blood LDL predominates. The content of lipids in cells and LDL of the studied vertebrates has been found to depend on their taxonomy and the clear trends both to an increase of the cholesterol content and to a decrease if the phosphatidylcholine level in patients, particu- larly with IHD, and on a rise of the ratio of the content of the more saturated sphingomyelin and cholesterol to the less saturated phosphatidylcholine from the lower to the higher organisms, including humans (donors). The highest levels of free cholesterol in blood cells, of total cholesterol in LDL, and of ration of the cholesterol/phosphatidylcholine content have been revealed in patients, especially with 1HB, and in the mammals predisposed to atherosclerosis, i. e., in representatives with predominance of blood LDL, unlike donors and the mammals resistant to atherosclerosis. The highest parameters of lipid components were determined in cells and LDL inhuman with IHD. The lipid LDL composition affects directly the composition and ratio of lipids in blood cells.

PMID: 22145317 [PubMed – in process]

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