American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites and Altered Lung Function in Wuhan, China.
Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with adverse effects on the respiratory system. However, the association between internal levels of PAH metabolites and lung function levels remains unclear. ⋯ Total and specific urinary PAH metabolites were associated with lung function reduction in a general Chinese population. Further studies are needed to investigate the potential mechanism by which PAHs induces lung function reduction.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Lifetime Exposure to Ambient Pollution and Lung Function in Children.
Few studies have examined associations between exposure to air pollution and childhood lung function after implementation of strict air quality regulations in the 1990s. ⋯ Estimates of long-term exposure to ambient pollution, including proximity to major roadway, PM2.5, and BC (a traffic-related PM2.5 constituent), were associated with lower lung function in this Boston-area cohort of children with relatively low pollution exposures.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
The Early Development of Wheeze: Environmental Determinants and Genetic Susceptibility at 17q21.
Growing up on a farm protects from childhood asthma and early wheeze. Virus-triggered wheeze in infancy predicts asthma in individuals with a genetic asthma risk associated with chromosome 17q21. ⋯ These findings suggest that the chromosome 17q21 locus relates to episodes of acute airway obstruction common to both transient wheeze and asthma. The previously identified asthma risk alleles are the ones susceptible to environmental influences. Thus, this gene-environment interaction reveals two faces of 17q21: The same genotype constitutes genetic risk and allows for environmental protection, thereby providing options for prospective prevention strategies.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2016
Bone Marrow-derived Cells Contribute to Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive lung disease of the pulmonary microvasculature. Studies suggest that bone marrow (BM)-derived circulating cells may play an important role in its pathogenesis. ⋯ Our data show that BM cells played a key role in PAH pathogenesis and that the transplanted BM cells were able to drive the lung phenotype in a myeloablative transplant model. Furthermore, the specific cell types involved were derived from hematopoietic stem cells and exhibit dysfunction long before the development of lung pathology.