The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Nov 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialFamily-based association analysis of beta2-adrenergic receptor polymorphisms in the childhood asthma management program.
Beta2-adrenergic receptor (B2AR) polymorphisms have been associated with a variety of asthma-related phenotypes, but association results have been inconsistent across different studies. ⋯ B2AR variants are associated with spirometric values and bronchodilator responsiveness, but different regions of the gene provide evidence for association with these phenotypes.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Nov 2003
Release of both CCR4-active and CXCR3-active chemokines during human allergic pulmonary late-phase reactions.
Segmental antigen bronchoprovocation has long been used as a model to study allergic pulmonary inflammatory responses. Among the characteristics of the resulting cellular infiltrate is the preferential recruitment of TH2 lymphocytes. The mechanisms responsible for their selective recruitment remain unknown, but T(H)(2) cells preferentially express the chemokine receptors CCR4 and CCR8. ⋯ These data suggest that among the chemokines measured in this study, IP-10 is the predominant chemokine detected 20 hours after saline challenge, likely representing baseline production of a chemokine that favors TH1 cell recruitment. At antigen-challenged sites, levels of both CCR4 and CXCR3 active chemokines, but not CCR8 active chemokines, are markedly increased and are produced at levels that are likely to have biologic significance. Given the preferential accumulation of TH2 cells at these antigen-challenged sites, the increased production of CCR4-active chemokines might contribute to this response.