BACKGROUND Airway hyperresponsiveness to non-specific stimuli is one characteristic feature of airway diseases such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis. Until now, studies aiming to demonstrate a relationship between in vivo conditions associated with airway hyperreactivity and in vitro airway responsiveness have been inconclusive. OBJECTIVE Since serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E is believe...

Van Scott, Michael R., J. Paul Justice, John F. Bradfield, Edward Enright, Anastasia Sigounas, and Sanjiv Sur. IL-10 reduces Th2 cytokine production and eosinophilia but augments airway reactivity in allergic mice. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 278: L667–L674, 2000.—We investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-10 administration on allergen-induced Th2 cytokine production, eosinophilic i...

Tissue eosinophilia probably plays important roles in the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma and allergic disorders; however, this concept was challenged recently by controversial results in mouse models of bronchial asthma treated with anti-IL-5 Ab and the failure of anti-IL-5 therapy in humans. We have now used a unique model, IL-5 transgenic (TG) mice, to address a fundamental question: is ...

In order to examine the hypothesis that bronchial reactivity to non-specific constrictor stimuli is influenced by the resting tone of the bronchial smooth muscle, the airway responses to inhaled histamine solution and inhaled isoprenaline were measured in 19 patients with airway obstruction. There was a significant positive correlation between the size of the constrictor response to histamine a...

The aim of our study was to examine the short term effect ofdisulfiram on pulmonary functions of alcohol dependent subjects, who were chronic smokers J/Ve compared FEV1 % values on spirometry and airway reactivity to histamine challenge in alcohol dependent subjects at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment with disulfiram. Disulfiram did not significantly alter FEVI values and airway reactivi...

From this review, it is apparent that the effects of respiratory viral infection on airway reactivity are multiple. Although virus-associated changes are many, we have at present no evidence to show that respiratory viruses cause intrinsic abnormalities in airway smooth muscle function. Rather, respiratory viruses influence bronchial smooth muscle function through a variety of other means: epit...

Xanthine derivatives may inhibit phosphodiesterases without selective action on their single isoforms. In this study, effects of theophylline and theobromine on cough and airway reactivity were evaluated in awake guinea pigs using double-chamber whole body plethysmograph. Pre-treatment with theophylline and theobromine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) decreased the number of cough efforts evoked by inhalation ...

Recently, the evidence for platelet association with allergic diseases has been established by many researches. Activated platelets contribute to airway hyper reactivity, bronchoconstriction, airway inflammation and airway remodeling in asthmatic patients. We aimed to clarify platelet activation and key molecules on platelets, which are mainly associated with the mechanism underlying aspirin-ex...