The intracellular forkhead winged transcription factor Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) appears to be specifically expressed by naturally occurring Treg cells, particularly in mice, although in humans there is evidence of upregulation of Foxp3 in all T cells on activation. Foxp3 is required for the development and function of naturally occurring regulatory t cells (treg) and expression is sufficient to convert non-regulatory CD4+CD25T cells into cells with regulatory activity. Conversion of peripheral CD4+CD25 naive T cells to Foxp3+CD4+CD25 foxp3+ Treg cells can be induced by TGF-ß. In a murine asthma model, these TGF-ß-induced Treg prevented house-dust mite-induced allergic pathogenesis or infection pathogenesis in lungs. A single independent report has suggested that IL-4 and IL-13 also induce Foxp3+CD25+ Treg from CD4+CD25precursors. (more…)
Regulatory T cells Treg (picture above) is the existence of suppressor cells, which limit ongoing immune responses and prevent ...
An emerging concept is that pro-inflammatory signals lead to loss of Regulatory T Cells (Treg) function. Pasare and Medzhitov ( ...
Treg cells or regulatory T cells constitute a large population of cellular infiltrate in atopic/allergic inflammation and a dys ...
The induction of immune tolerance and specific immune suppression are essential processes in the control of immune responses. R ...
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy diseases such as rhinitis, conjunc ...
Some of the immediate sequelae of injury are uncomfortably familiar: Soon after an injury occurs, the affected site and its surrounding tissues become reddened, warm, swollen, and painful. These four signs which are probably the most useful and ubiquitous diagnostic clues in all of clinical medicine are hallmarks of acute inflammation, the body’s initial physiologic reaction to tissue distress. In its simplest form, inflammation is a response carried out by blood vessels and by the endothelial cells that line them. (more…)
The response to injury usually begins with dilatation of small blood vessels in and around the injured site (figure bellow). Th ...
Once it is tethered onto the venule wall, the neutrophil or other leukocyte comes into contact with a wide variety of inflammatory ...
Acute inflammatory response constitute the first line of defense against infection pathogenesis and how immune system works as ...
Nearly all tissues, organs, and serosal cavities harbor a population of resident phagocytes. Most contain only a diffuse scattering ...
Innate immune responses are seen in a very broad range of tissues. Indeed, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, one of the most important ...
Allergen exposure plays a role in the development of asthma bronchial hyper-responsiveness and in the acute inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. Reduction of house dust mite allergens might lead to better lung function and reduction of asthma symptoms. (more…)
Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of BHR and in the chronic inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. R ...
To prevent the development of allergy, allergen avoidance has to be instituted before sensitization has occurred. The specific ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preve ...
Asthma and allergic diseases are common in both children and adults. Their development depends on an interaction between asthma ...
Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its deve ...
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement of inflammatory cells in the induction of airway smooth muscle growth was studied in vivo and ex vivo in a brown Norway rat model of asthma. Transfer of CD4 + T lymphocytes from ovalbuminsensitized animals induced an increase in airway smooth muscle mass in naive animals upon repeated ovalbumin challenge. Ex vivo, coculture of antigen-stimulated CD4 + T cells and airway smooth muscle cells led to myocyte proliferation and prolonged T-cell survival. (more…)
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) act as receptors for numerous stimuli of immune cells, including bacterial cell wall constituents (l ...
A role for Leukotriene B4 in the induction of airway hyper-responsiveness was explored through the use of transgenic mice defic ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been ...
There is much controversy as to the role of allergen exposure for the development of atopic sensitization towards this allergen. While in some studies, a clear, almost linear dose-response relation between allergen exposure and sensitization has been found, others described a bell-shaped association with higher levels of exposures relating to lower rates of atopic sensitization. Part of the discrepancy may relate to the type of allergen, since mostly cat but not house dust mite allergy allergen exposure has been shown, in some studies, to exert protective effects at higher levels of exposure. (more…)
Natural history studies with the following design features provide a firm epidemiologic foundation for risk factor assessments and ...
The effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on children have been extensively studied and numerous surveys hav ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preve ...
Allergen exposure plays a role in the development of asthma bronchial hyper-responsiveness and in the acute inflammatory response ...
Sensitization to pets remains a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and can occur in people who have never lived with a pet. S ...
The two strongest risk factors for asthma in childhood are a family history and immediate hypersensitivity to common allergens. This immune response includes both IgE antibodies and helper T cells type 2 (Th2), both of which are thought to contribute to the inflammation in the respiratory tract. Children with asthma who mount an immune response to inhalant allergens have an increased risk of developing asthma because of this combination of genetics and exposure. However, it is sensitization to indoor allergens (e.g. dust mites, cats, dogs, and cockroaches) that is strongly associated with asthma. (more…)
Exposure and allergic sensitization to cockroach was associated with a significantly greater risk of asthma hospitalization and ...
There is much controversy as to the role of allergen exposure for the development of atopic sensitization towards this allergen. Wh ...
Classification of bronchial asthma can be based on age, etiology, associated characteristics, or severity. Classifications base ...
Sensitization to pets remains a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and can occur in people who have never lived with a pet. S ...
This population-based cross-sectional study, funded by a UK government agency, aimed to establish the rate of sensitization to food ...
Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory nasal disorder in which a range of different cells participate. A variety of approaches has been used to monitor nasal inflammation objectively to investigate disease processes and to evaluate the effect of therapeutic intervention. These approaches include nasal lavage, nasal cytology and nasal biopsy, together with the more recently established measurement of nasal nitric oxide (NO) concentration. Although all provide information about nasal mucosal inflammation, the extent of information that can be obtained by each approach, the ease of sampling, and the complexity of sample handling differ. (more…)
After nasal allergen challenge, substance P and CGRP are released into nasal secretions of atopic patients . In allergic rhinit ...
Treatment with omalizumab has been shown to reduce serum free IgE concentrations and to have beneficial effects on allergic airway ...
This method of Acoustic Rhinometry is performed by doing the cross-sectional areas of the nasal measures by sending a sound pulse t ...
Non-allergic rhinitis is defined by the absence of positive SPTs or radioallergosorbent test (RAST) to common allergens. Ideall ...
Leukotrienes are present in increased amounts in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in patients with asthma. So far, no data have ...
Local micro environmental factors are crucial in determining both susceptibility to vascular remodeling and the extent of angiogenesis. Major exogenous triggers of airway inflammation in asthma include viruses and inhaled aeroallergens, both of which are known to be associated with the production of angiogenic factors . These stimuli elicit reciprocal immune responses, through elaboration of Th1 and Th2 cytokines. (more…)
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
The airway circulation has many potential roles in asthma. The vasculature has a major influence on upper airway patency in nasal i ...
Exacerbations of asthma are frequently associated with rhinoviral infection. Rhinoviruses infect respiratory epithelial cells, ...
While our primary concern is the impact that the innate immune system has on allergic disease, it is essential to recognize that al ...
Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been ...
Activation of the innate immune system is an integral part of the pathology of allergic diseases such as asthma, with a dual role that has different emphases in disease initiation and disease perpetuation. Sadly underappreciated in the past, the resurgence in interest in innate immunobiology has been spearheaded by the identification of the TLR system and its huge contribution to health and disease. (more…)
Innate immunity depends on both resident and recruited leukocytes. The macrophage without doubt plays an import- ant role in the de ...
Contact of pathogens with the innate immune system will most frequently occur at epithelia, and the biology of the airway epitheliu ...
While our primary concern is the impact that the innate immune system has on allergic disease, it is essential to recognize that al ...
Innate immune responses are seen in a very broad range of tissues. Indeed, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, one of the most important ...
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) act as receptors for numerous stimuli of immune cells, including bacterial cell wall constituents (l ...
Innate immune responses are seen in a very broad range of tissues. Indeed, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, one of the most important series of innate immune response proteins, described in detail below) are probably represented at some level in every cell in the body. Even before such systems are engaged, however, other levels of defense have important roles in mediating successful immunity. (more…)
Innate immunity depends on both resident and recruited leukocytes. The macrophage without doubt plays an import- ant role in the de ...
While our primary concern is the impact that the innate immune system has on allergic disease, it is essential to recognize that al ...
Contact of pathogens with the innate immune system will most frequently occur at epithelia, and the biology of the airway epitheliu ...
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
An especially elaborate and important type of innate antimicrobial enzymes defense is provided by a group of serum proteins tha ...