American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
Nerve Growth Factor Controls Development and Persistence of Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by a progressive elevation in mean pulmonary arterial pressure, often leading to right ventricular failure and death. Growth factors play significant roles in the pathogenesis of PH, and their targeting may therefore offer novel therapeutic strategies in this disease. ⋯ This study highlights the critical role of NGF in PH. Because of the recent development of anti-NGF blocking antibodies as a possible new pain treatment, such a therapeutic strategy of NGF inhibition may be of interest in PH.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
Therapeutic Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Microvesicles in Severe Pneumonia in Mice.
Microvesicles (MVs) are anuclear fragments of cells released from the endosomal compartment or shed from surface membranes. We and other investigators demonstrated that MVs released by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were as effective as the cells themselves in inflammatory injuries, such as after endotoxin-induced acute lung injury. However, the therapeutic effects of MVs in an infectious model of acute lung injury remain unknown. ⋯ MVs derived from human MSCs were as effective as the parent stem cells in severe bacterial pneumonia.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Aug 2015
Ozone, Fine Particulate Matter and Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease Mortality in the United States.
Short-term effects of air pollution exposure on respiratory disease mortality are well established. However, few studies have examined the effects of long-term exposure, and among those that have, results are inconsistent. ⋯ This study links air pollution exposure data with CLRD mortality for all 3,109 contiguous U.S. counties. Ambient ozone may be associated with an increased rate of death from CLRD in the contiguous United States. Although we adjusted for selected county-level covariates and unobserved influences through Bayesian hierarchical spatial modeling, the possibility of ecologic bias remains.