Eosinophil Cationic Protein Variation in Patients with Asthma and CRSwNP Treated with Dupilumab

Background: Asthma is a clinical syndrome characterized by recurrent episodes of airway obstruction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation. Most patients with asthma present a “type 2” (TH2) inflammation. ILC2 and TH2 cells release cytokines IL4, IL-13 and IL-5. CRSwNP is a condition characterized by hyposmia or anosmia, nasal congestion, nasal discharge, and face pain or pressure that last for at least 12 weeks in a row without relief. Both asthma and CRSwNP are often characterized by a type 2 inflammation endotype and are often present in the same patient. Dupilumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the interleukin-4 receptor α (IL-4Rα) subunit, blocking IL4/IL-4Rα binding and IL13. It has been labelled for the treatment of moderate to severe asthma in patients from the age of 12 years with an eosinophilic phenotype, and it has demonstrated efficacy and acceptable safety. Our study aims to investigate the effects of dupilumab on type 2 inflammatory biomarkers, such as eosinophils and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). ECP is an eosinophil-derived substance contained in granules that are released during inflammation and causes various biological effects, including tissue damage in asthmatic airways. Methods: ECP, Eosinophil counts (EOS), and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were longitudinally measured using immunoassays in the serum of 21 patients affected by CRSwNP, of which 17 had asthma as a comorbidity, receiving 300 mg dupilumab every two weeks. Results: The EOS and ECP, after a first phase of significant increase due to the intrinsic characteristic of the block of IL-4 and IL-13, returned to the baseline 10 months after the initial administration of dupilumab. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and serum total IgE decreased significantly after 9 months. Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores improved after dupilumab treatment. FEV1% and FEV1 absolute registered a significant improvement at 10 months. Conclusions: Patients who received 300 milligrams of dupilumab every two weeks first experienced a temporary increase in eosinophils (EOS) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), then exhibited a gradual decline in these variables with a subsequent return to the initial baseline levels. When compared to the baseline, we observed that the levels of IgE and FeNO decreased over time, while there was an increase in both FEV1 and FEV1%

Evidence of a cubic iron sub-lattice in t-CuFe2O4 demonstrated by X-ray Absorption Fine Structure

Copper ferrite, belonging to the wide and technologically relevant class of spinel ferrites, was grown in the form of t-CuFe2O4 nanocrystals within a porous matrix of silica in the form of either an aerogel or a xerogel, and com-pared to a bulk sample. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy revealed the presence of two different sub-lattices within the crystal structure of t-CuFe2O4, one tetragonal and one cubic, defined by the Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions respectively. Our investigation provides evidence that the Jahn-Teller distortion, which occurs on the Cu2+ ions located in octahedral sites, does not affect the coordination geometry of the Fe3+ ions, regardless of their location in octahedral or tetrahedral sites

Iron-cobalt nanocrystalline alloy supported on a cubic mesostructured silica matrix: FeCo/SBA-16 porous nanocomposites

A series of novel nanocomposites constituted of FeCo nanoparticles dispersed in an ordered cubic Im3m mesoporous silica matrix (SBA-16) have been successfully synthesized using the wet impregnation method. SBA-16, prepared using the non-ionic Pluronic 127 triblock copolymer as a structure-directing agent, is an excellent support for catalytic nanoparticles because of its peculiar three-dimensional cage-like structure, high surface area, thick walls, and high thermal stability. Low-angle X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, and transmission electron microscopy analyses show that after metal loading, calcination at 500 °C, and reduction in H2 flux at 800 °C, the nanocomposites retain the well-ordered structure of the matrix with cubic symmetry of pores. FeCo alloy nanoparticles with spherical shape and narrow size distribution (4-8 nm) are homogeneoulsy distributed throughout the matrix and they seem in a large extent to be allocated inside the pores

Carbon nanotubes synthesis over FeCo-based catalysts supported on SBA-16

A series of Fe/Co based nanocomposites where the matrix is mesoporous ordered cubic Im3m silica (SBA-16 type) characterized by a three dimensional cage-like structure of pores were obtained by two different approaches: impregnation and gelation. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis show that after metal loading, calcination at 500 C and reduction in H2 fl ux at 800 C the nanocomposites retain the well-ordered structure of the matrix with cubic symmetry of pores. All nanocomposites prepared were tested for the production of carbon nanotubes by catalytic chemical vapour deposition. Transmission electron microscopy points out that good quality multi-walled carbon nanotubes are obtained

Iron-cobalt nanocrystalline alloy supported on a cubic mesostructured silica matrix: FeCo/SBA-16 porous nanocomposites

A series of novel nanocomposites constituted of FeCo nanoparticles dispersed in an ordered cubic Im3m mesoporous silica matrix (SBA-16) have been successfully synthesized using the wet impregnation method. SBA-16, prepared using the non-ionic Pluronic 127 triblock copolymer as a structuredirecting agent, is an excellent support for catalytic nanoparticles because of its peculiar three-dimensional cage-like structure, high surface area, thick walls, and high thermal stability. Low-angle X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, and transmission electron microscopy analyses show that after metal loading, calcination at 500 C, and reduction in H2 flux at 800 C, the nanocomposites retain the wellordered structure of the matrix with cubic symmetry of pores. FeCo alloy nanoparticles with spherical shape and narrow size distribution (4–8 nm) are homogeneoulsy distributed throughout the matrix and they seem in a large extent to be allocated inside the pores

Cubic mesoporous silica (SBA-16) prepared using butanol as the Co-surfactant: A general matrix for the preparation of FeCo-SiO2 nanocomposites

A mesoporous ordered cubic Im3m silica (SBA-16) characterized by a three dimensional cage-like structure of pores was used as a host matrix for the preparation of a series of FeCo-SiO2 nanocomposites with different alloy loading and composition by the wet impregnation method. The mesoporous structure of the SBA-16-type support, prepared according to a versatile sol-gel templated synthetic method, which makes use of n-butanol as a co-surfactant, is stable during the treatments necessary to obtain the final nanocomposites, as pointed out by low-angle X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and N2 physisorption at 77 K. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction shows that upon reduction at 800 °C, FeCo nanocrystals (6-7 nm) with the typical bcc structure are formed and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, performed by scanning transmission electron microscopy on one of the samples, shows that the Fe/Co atomic ratio in the alloy nanoparticles is very close to the expected value of two. Electron tomography was used for the first time to gain evidence on the highly interconnected mesoporous structure of SBA-16 and the arrangement of the nanoparticles within the matrix. It was found that spherical alloy nanocrystals with narrow size distribution are homogeneously distributed throughout the mesoporous matrix and that the resulting FeCo-SiO2 nanocomposite material displays superparamagnetic behavior with high strength dipolar interactions, as expected for particles with a large magnetic moment