American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
Fibrocytes Contribute to Inflammation and Fibrosis in Chronic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Through Paracrine Effects.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) represents a lung inflammation provoked by exposure to a variety of antigens. Chronic HP may evolve to lung fibrosis. Bone marrow-derived fibrocytes migrate to injured tissues and contribute to fibrogenesis, but their role in HP is unknown. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that high levels of fibrocytes are present in the peripheral blood of patients with chronic HP and that these cells infiltrate the HP lungs. Fibrocytes may participate in the pathogenesis of HP, amplifying the inflammatory and fibrotic response by paracrine signaling inducing the secretion of a variety of proinflammatory and profibrotic molecules.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
Personalized Respiratory Medicine: Exploring the Horizon, Addressing the Issues.
This Pulmonary Perspective summarizes the content and main conclusions of an international workshop on personalized respiratory medicine coorganized by the Barcelona Respiratory Network ( www.brn.cat ) and the AJRCCM in June 2014. It discusses (1) its definition and historical, social, legal, and ethical aspects; (2) the view from different disciplines, including basic science, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and network/systems medicine; (3) the bottlenecks and opportunities identified by some currently ongoing projects; and (4) the implications for the individual, the healthcare system and the pharmaceutical industry. The authors hope that, although it is not a systematic review on the subject, this document can be a useful reference for researchers, clinicians, healthcare managers, policy-makers, and industry parties interested in personalized respiratory medicine.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
Lymphocytic Alveolitis is Associated with the Accumulation of Functionally Impaired HIV-specific T Cells in the Lung of ART-naive Subjects.
Lymphocytic alveolitis in HIV-1-infected individuals is associated with multiple pulmonary complications and a poor prognosis. Although lymphocytic alveolitis has been associated with viremia and an increased number of CD8(+) T cells in the lung, its exact cause is unknown. ⋯ These findings suggest that alveolitis associated with HIV-1 infection is caused by the recruitment of HIV-1-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells to the lung. These antigen-specific T cells display an impaired proliferative capacity that is caused by increased expression of PD-1.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
ReviewThe Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Immune Contexture: a Major Determinant of Tumor Characteristics and Patient Outcome.
Solid tumors, beyond mere accumulation of cancer cells, form a complex ecosystem consisting of normal epithelial cells, fibroblasts, blood and lymphatic vessels, structural components, and infiltrating hematopoietic cells including myeloid and lymphoid elements that impact tumor growth, tumor spreading, and clinical outcome. The composition of the immune microenvironment is diverse, including various populations of T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, neutrophils, or macrophages. ⋯ In lung cancer, which is the deadliest type of cancer, and particularly in non-small cell lung cancer, its most prevalent form, reports have described some of the interactions between the tumor and the host. These data, in addition to articles on various types of tumors, provide a greater understanding of the tumor-host microenvironment interaction and stimulate the development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers, the identification of novel target antigens for therapeutic intervention, and the implementation of tools for long-term management of patients with cancer.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2015
Critical Care Bed Growth in the United States: a Comparison of Regional and National Trends.
Although the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the United States is increasing, it is unknown whether this trend is consistent across all regions. ⋯ National trends in ICU bed growth are not uniformly reflected at the regional level, with most growth occurring in a small number of highly populated regions.