The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 2018
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialAirway microbiota signals anabolic and catabolic remodeling in the transplanted lung.
Homeostatic turnover of the extracellular matrix conditions the structure and function of the healthy lung. In lung transplantation, long-term management remains limited by chronic lung allograft dysfunction, an umbrella term used for a heterogeneous entity ultimately associated with pathological airway and/or parenchyma remodeling. ⋯ Host-microbes interplay potentially determines remodeling activities in the transplanted lung, highlighting new therapeutic opportunities to ultimately improve long-term lung transplant outcome.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 2018
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialSputum transcriptomics reveal upregulation of IL-1 receptor family members in patients with severe asthma.
Sputum analysis in asthmatic patients is used to define airway inflammatory processes and might guide therapy. ⋯ IL1RL1 gene expression is associated with eosinophilic SA, whereas NLRP3 inflammasome expression is highest in patients with neutrophilic SA. TH2-driven eosinophilic inflammation and neutrophil-associated inflammasome activation might represent interacting pathways in patients with SA.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 2018
ReviewZika virus: An emerging infectious disease with serious perinatal and neurologic complications.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that is primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector also important in transmission of the flaviviruses responsible for dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. Because of occurrence in the same geographic regions, serologic cross-reactivity, and similar but often less severe clinical manifestations, such as dengue and chikungunya infections, ZIKV infection likely has gone undetected, misdiagnosed, or both for many years. ZIKV is somewhat unique among flaviviruses in its ability to also be transmitted through sexual contact, nonsexual body fluids, and perinatally. ⋯ Inactivated whole virus, DNA, RNA, and vectored vaccine approaches to prevent ZIKV infection are in development, as are treatments for active disease that are safe in pregnant women. Here we summarize the important epidemiologic and clinical features of ZIKV infection, as well as the progress and challenges in developing rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests and vaccines to prevent disease. We used electronic databases to identify relevant published data regarding ZIKV MeSH searches.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Feb 2018
Comparative Study Clinical TrialCDC42-related genes are upregulated in helper T cells from obese asthmatic children.
Pediatric obesity-related asthma is more severe and less responsive to medications than asthma in normal-weight children. Obese asthmatic children have nonatopic TH1-polarized systemic inflammation that correlates with pulmonary function deficits, but the pathways underlying TH1-polarized inflammation are not well understood. ⋯ Our study identifies the CDC42 pathway as a novel target that is upregulated in TH cells of obese asthmatic children, suggesting its role in nonatopic TH1-polarized systemic inflammation and pulmonary function deficits found in patients with pediatric obesity-related asthma.