Correlation between nasal eosinophils and nasal airflows in children with asthma and/or rhinitis monosensitised to house dust mites

PubMedID: 23122003Background: Allergic rhinitis and asthma due to mite sensitisation are diseases which are frequently associated and characterised by persistent inflammation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between nasal airflows and nasal eosinophils in patients with asthma and/or rhinitis due to house dust mite sensitisation. Methods: Twenty-four children with both rhinitis and asthma (R. +. A), 13 children with rhinitis and no asthma (R) and 10 non-allergic healthy children were evaluated prospectively. The patients belonging to the first two groups had moderate-severe grade of nasal obstruction. Total nasal symptom scores, peak nasal inspiratory flows (PNIFs) obtained by anterior rhinomanometry, skin prick tests, nasal eosinophils and FEV1 values were all assessed. Results: Percentages of nasal eosinophils and PNIFs in patients with R. +. A and R (r= -0.415, p= 0.04) were found to be statistically significant and to have an inverse correlation. Skin prick tests were also significantly correlated with nasal eosinophils and PNIFs (r= 0.372, p= 0.01 and r= -0.306, p= 0.04, respectively). Both PNIFs and nasal eosinophils of patients with R. +. A were significantly correlated with FEV1 values (r= -0.641, p= 0.001 and r= 0.548, p= 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: In this study, a close relationship was demonstrated between eosinophil infiltration and nasal airflows in children having asthma and/or rhinitis monosensitised to mites. Additionally, the significant association found between FEV1 values and nasal eosinophils or PNIFs supported the close link of upper and lower airways. © 2012 SEICAP

Two year follow-up of clinical and inflammation parameters in children monosensitised to mites undergoing subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy

31st Congress of the European-Academy-of-Allergy-and-Clinical-Immunology (EAACI) -- JUN 16-20, 2012 -- Geneva, SWITZERLANDWOS: 000310247703191…European Acad Allergy & Clin Immunol (EAACI

Effect of one-year subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy on clinical and laboratory parameters in children with rhinitis and asthma: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study

PubMedID: 22041501Background: It has been reported that both sublingual (SLIT) and subcutaneous (SCIT) allergen-specific immunotherapy have clinical efficacy, yet there are rather few comparative placebo studies of children. We aimed to investigate the clinical and immunological efficacy of mite-specific SLIT and SCIT versus a placebo in rhinitis and asthma in children. Methods: The outcomes of this 1-year, randomized, placebo- controlled, double-blind, double-dummy study were symptom and medication scores, visual analog scores (VAS), titrated skin prick tests, nasal and bronchial allergen provocation doses, serum house dust mite-specific immunglobulin E (HDM-sIgE), sIgG4, IL-10 and IFN- ß levels. Results: Clinical and laboratory parameters were evaluated in 30 patients. SCIT significantly diminished symptom and medication scores for rhinitis and asthma (p = 0.03 and p = 0.05 for rhinitis; p = 0.01 and p = 0.05 for asthma) and VAS. SLIT also reduced VAS, symptoms associated with rhinitis and asthma as well as medication usage for rhinitis, but this reduction was not significant when compared with the placebo. Skin reactivitiy to HDM and HDM-sIgE levels was reduced significantly in both immunotherapy groups. Serum IL-10 levels and nasal provocative doses increased significantly with both SCIT and SLIT. Nasal eosinophil increments after nasal challenge decreased with two treatment modes, but bronchial provocative doses and sputum eosinophil increments after bronchial challenge were reduced only with SCIT. In both treatment arms, there was no change in IFN- ? levels. Serum sIgG4 levels increased significantly only in the SCIT group. Conclusion: Based on the limited number of patients at the end of the 1-year immunotherapy, the clinical efficacy of SCIT on rhinitis and asthma symptoms was more evident when compared with the placebo. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel

Exhaled breath condensate MMP-9 level and its relationship wth asthma severity and interleukin-4/10 levels in children

PubMedID: 22541398Background: Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are key mediators in airway remodeling, and MMP- 9 is the main type investigated to discover its implication for the pathogenesis and severity of asthma. Objective: To evaluate MMP-9 and its natural tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1) levels of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in children with asthma. We also analyzed any potential relationship between these enzymes and EBC interleukin (IL)-4/10 levels as well as asthma severity. Methods: Three study groups were formed: group 1, children with persistent asthma (n = 20); group 2, children with intermittent asthma (n = 10), and group 3, healthy controls (n = 12). Pulmonary functions were measured as forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), and forced expiratory flow from 25% to 75% of vital capacity values by spirometry, and MMP-9, TIMP-1 and IL-4/10 levels in EBC were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The MMP-9 levels of EBC were found to be 57.7 ± 17.5, 35.4 ± 11.7, and 30.6 ± 3.7 ng/mL in children belonging to group 1, group 2 and group 3, respectively. Children belonging to group 1 and group 2 showed significantly higher MMP-9 levels of EBC in comparison with the controls (P <.001 and P =.047, respectively). No statistically significant difference was found between groups regarding TIMP-1 levels of EBC. EBC MMP-9 levels were inversely correlated with both FEV 1 and PEF values (r = -0.472, P =.011, and r = -0.571, P =.002, respectively) in children with asthma. Positive correlations were also seen between MMP-9 levels and IL-4/10 levels of EBC (r = 0.419, P =.027 and r = 0.405, P =.032, respectively) in children with asthma. Conclusion: We showed that MMP-9 levels of EBC are elevated in children with asthma and correlated with lung functions and other inflammatory markers such as IL-4/IL10 in EBC. © 2012 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

An improved zebrafish transcriptome annotation for sensitive and comprehensive detection of cell type-specific genes

The zebrafish is ideal for studying embryogenesis and is increasingly applied to model human disease. In these contexts, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) provides mechanistic insights by identifying transcriptome changes between experimental conditions. Application of RNA-seq relies on accurate transcript annotation for a genome of interest. Here, we find discrepancies in analysis from RNA-seq datasets quantified using Ensembl and RefSeq zebrafish annotations. These issues were due, in part, to variably annotated 3' untranslated regions and thousands of gene models missing from each annotation. Since these discrepancies could compromise downstream analyses and biological reproducibility, we built a more comprehensive zebrafish transcriptome annotation that addresses these deficiencies. Our annotation improves detection of cell type-specific genes in both bulk and single cell RNA-seq datasets, where it also improves resolution of cell clustering. Thus, we demonstrate that our new transcriptome annotation can outperform existing annotations, providing an important resource for zebrafish researchers

Radiotherapy with or without temozolomide in elderly glioblastoma patients: Treatment results and prognostic factors.

WOS: 000208852003043