Immunity, inflammation and disease
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Clinical Trial
Environmental levels of avian antigen are relevant to the progression of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis during antigen avoidance.
In chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (chronic HP), antigen avoidance is critical for disease management; however, complete avoidance is difficult because of unrecognized exposure to antigens. Recently, we revealed that the amount of avian antigen (AAA) in household dust at the time of diagnosis predicted the progression of chronic bird-related HP. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the prognosis of chronic bird-related HP and the AAA that remained in the environment during antigen avoidance. ⋯ Measurements of the AAA after diagnosis predict the progression of chronic bird-related HP. Avian antigen can exist in the indoor environment regardless of antigen avoidance. The presence of avian antigen in the indoor environment can be attributed to wild birds found outdoors.
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Murine hepatic NK cells exhibit adaptive features, with liver-specific adhesion molecules CXCR6 and CD49a acting as surface markers. ⋯ IL-12 and IL-15 may be key for generating NK cells with a tissue-homing phenotype and strong Th1 cytokine profile in the blood, and links peripheral activation of NK cells with tissue-homing. These findings may have important therapeutic implications for immunotherapy of chronic liver disease.