Condition: Asthma
Interventions: Drug: Fenoterol MDI; Drug: DSCG MDI
Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim
Terminated – verified June 2014
View full post on ClinicalTrials.gov: asthma | received in the last 14 days
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]
View full post on pubmed: asthma
Increased apoptosis of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes in the airways of horses with recurrent airway obstruction.
Increased apoptosis of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes in the airways of horses with recurrent airway obstruction.
Vet Res Commun. 2011 May 19;
Authors: Moran G, Buechner-Maxwell VA, Folch H, Henriquez C, Galecio JS, Perez B, Carrasco C, Barria M
Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO, also known as equine heaves) is an inflammatory condition similar to human asthma caused by exposure of susceptible horses to poorly ventilated stable environments. The disease is characterized by neutrophilic airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion and reversible bronchoconstriction. This inflammatory process is mediated by several factors, including antibodies, cytokines, resident cells of the airway and inflammatory cellular components that arrive in the respiratory tract. An increasing body of evidence has lent support to the concept that a dysregulation of T cell apoptosis may play a central role in the development of airway inflammation and the associated asthma. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate early and late apoptosis of CD4 and CD8 T cell subpopulations obtained from the airways of acute RAO-positive animals after exposure to hay/straw. The percentages of CD4 and CD8 T cells and their associated frequencies of apoptosis were quantified using flow cytometry. Hay/straw exposure induced clinical airway obstruction, airway neutrophilia and increased airway mucus production in RAO-positive horses. In addition, allergen exposure increased the percentage of CD4 T cells in RAO-positive horses as well as the frequency of early and late apoptosis in both CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte subpopulations. These results suggest that the higher frequency of lymphocyte apoptosis may play a role in disease progression of horses afflicted with RAO and may partially explain the characteristic remission of this pathological condition once the allergen source is removed. However, further studies are needed to clarify the role of T cell apoptosis in RAO-affected horses.
PMID: 21594641 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
View full post on pubmed: asthma