The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
-
J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Mar 2008
ReviewThe role of histone deacetylases in asthma and allergic diseases.
Diverse cellular functions, including inflammatory gene expression, DNA repair, and cell proliferation, are regulated by histone acetylation. Transcriptional coactivators possess intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity, and this activity drives inflammatory gene expression and the development of tolerance in macrophages. Eleven histone deacetylases (HDACs) act to regulate the expression of distinct subsets of inflammatory/immune genes. ⋯ However, the acetylation/deacetylation status of nonhistone proteins can also affect the overall expression pattern of inflammatory genes. HDAC2 expression and activity is reduced in lung macrophages, biopsy specimens, and blood cells from patients with severe asthma and smoking-induced asthma, as well as in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, perhaps accounting for the enhanced inflammation and reduced steroid responsiveness seen in these patients. Targeting specific enzymes involved in this process might lead to new therapeutic agents, particularly in situations in which current anti-inflammatory therapies are suboptimal.
-
J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Mar 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialRapid corticosteroid effect on beta(2)-adrenergic airway and airway vascular reactivity in patients with mild asthma.
Long-term glucocorticoid therapy has been suggested to improve airway and airway vascular smooth muscle responsiveness to inhaled beta(2)-agonists in patients with asthma. ⋯ A single dose of an inhaled glucocorticoid restores beta(2)-adrenergic airway vasodilator responses in patients with mild asthma. The mechanism of this rapid glucocorticoid effect remains to be clarified.
-
J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Mar 2008
Peanut epitopes for IgE and IgG4 in peanut-sensitized children in relation to severity of peanut allergy.
Better understanding of the relationship between antibody response to peanut and clinical sensitivity might lead to more accurate prognostication. ⋯ Clinical sensitivity, as determined by means of double-blind, placebo-controlled peanut challenge, is positively related to a more polyclonal IgE response, which remains stable over time.
-
J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Mar 2008
Identification of wheat gliadins as an allergen family related to baker's asthma.
Flour is still one of the most common causes of occupational asthma worldwide. Thus far, little is known about the relevant allergens causing baker's asthma. Therefore the reliability of current diagnostic procedures is insufficient. Only few of the suspected causative wheat allergens have been hitherto characterized on the molecular level. ⋯ Gliadins represent a newly discovered family of inhalable allergens in baker's asthma. This finding demonstrates that water-insoluble proteins might also represent causative allergens.