We evaluated the capacity to predict severe respiratory complications (SRCs) following upper abdominal surgery (UAS) by using the results of a respiratory questionnaire and preoperative pulmonary function tests. Lung volumes, flows and transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide (TL,CO,sb) were assessed in 361 consecutive adult patients (248 males and 113 females). SRCs were diagnosed 24 h ...

Asthma is an allergic airways disease (AAD) caused by dysregulated immune responses and characterized by eosinophilic inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). NKT cells have been shown to contribute to AHR in some mouse models. Conversely, regulatory T cells (Tregs) control aberrant immune responses and maintain homeostasis. Recent evidence suggests that Strepto...

Ozone (O3) is a strong oxidant in air pollution that has harmful effects on airways and exacerbates respiratory disorders. The transcription factor Nrf2 protects airways from oxidative stress through antioxidant response element-bearing defense gene induction. The present study was designed to determine the role of Nrf2 in airway toxicity caused by inhaled O3 in mice. For this purpose, Nrf2-def...

BACKGROUND The role of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is still controversial, but it has been proposed that it may protect from mucus hypersecretion since it is able to downregulate mucin production. A study was undertaken to investigate the expression of TGF-beta1 and its type II receptor (TGF-beta RII) in the bronchial glands of smokers w...

Airway mucus hypersecretion is a major pathological characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cigarette smoke is highly implicated in mucus secretion and the development of COPD. Cigarette smoke reportedly induces mucin overproduction through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the airway epithelium; however, the underlying mechanisms responsible for the act...

The anti-inflammatory action of silver nanoparticles (NPs) has been reported in a murine model of asthma in a previous study. But more specific mechanisms of silver NPs in an attenuation of allergic airway inflammation have not yet been established. Vascular and mucous changes are believed to contribute largely in pathophysiology in asthma. Among various factors related to vascular changes, vas...

Mucus hypersecretion with elevated MUC5B mucin production is a pathologic feature in many airway diseases associated with oxidative stress. In the present work, we evaluated MUC5B expression in airways and in primary cultures of normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells, as well as the mechanisms involved in its regulation. We found that oxidative stress generated by cigarette smoke or rea...

PURPOSE Asthma is a pulmonary chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway obstruction and hyperresponsiveness. Pattern recognition receptors are known to play a key role in the development of allergic diseases as well as host defenses against microbial infection. Receptor interacting protein 2 (RIP2), a serine/threonine kinase, is an adaptor molecule of NOD1 and NOD2, and genetic varia...

Mucus hypersecretion is characteristic of chronic airway diseases. However, regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. Human airway epithelial cells grown on permeable supports at the air-liquid interface (ALI) develop a mucociliary morphology resembling that found in vivo. Such cultures provide a model for studying secretory cell lineage, differentiation, and function, and may provide insigh...

Transgenic field peas (pisum sativum) expressing the alpha-amylase inhibitor (AAI) protein normally found in common beans (Tendergreen bean) are completely protected from infestation with pea weevils tested in the laboratory, greenhouse and field over several generations, and at many sites for efficacy against the insect pests. Previously, transgenic AAI pea feeding in mice was shown to influen...