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Sensitizing and Th2 Adjuvant Activity of Cysteine Protease Allergens

Here, we report on a model that does not use Th2-skewing adjuvants and yet achieves sensitization solely via the nasal mucosa.

Physiological and inflammatory responses in an anthropomorphically relevant model of acute diesel exhaust particle exposure are sex and dose-dependent

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are an important contributor to suspended particulate matter (PM) in urban areas. While epidemiological evidence exists for a...

Proteomic Insights into Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Its Role in Asthma Pathogenesis

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) increases risk of developing respiratory diseases such as asthma later in life. This study aims to characterize the effects of maternal hypoxia-induced IUGR on the lung proteome and identify key altered pathways relevant to asthma development in male and female adult offspring.

Carbon dioxide overload, detected in human blood, suggests a potentially toxic atmosphere within 50 years

Anthropogenic activities are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. There is mounting experimental evidence that lifetime exposure to these increasing atmospheric CO2 levels can negatively impact the normal physiology of organisms. However, directly assessing this in humans is very difficult. 

Azithromycin inhibits mucin secretion, mucous metaplasia, airway inflammation, and airways hyperresponsiveness in mice exposed to house dust mite extract

Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma.

Toxicity of different biodiesel exhausts in primary human airway epithelial cells grown at air-liquid interface

Biodiesel is created through the transesterification of fats/oils and its usage is increasing worldwide as global warming concerns increase. Biodiesel fuel properties change depending on the feedstock used to create it.

Growth of the airway smooth muscle layer from late gestation to childhood is mediated initially by hypertrophy and subsequently hyperplasia

The airway smooth muscle (ASM) layer thickens during development. Identifying the mechanism(s) for normal structural maturation of the ASM reveals pathways susceptible to disease processes. This study characterized thickening of the ASM layer from foetal life to childhood and elucidated the underlying mechanism in terms of hypertrophy, hyperplasia and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition.

Exacerbation of chronic cigarette-smoke induced lung disease by rhinovirus in mice

A significant proportion of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations are strongly associated with rhinovirus infection (HRV). In this study, we combined long-term cigarette smoke exposure with HRV infection in a mouse model.

Long-term exposure of mice to 890 ppm atmospheric CO2 alters growth trajectories and elicits hyperactive behaviours in young adulthood

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are currently at 418 parts per million (ppm), and by 2100 may exceed 900 ppm. The biological effects of lifetime exposure to CO2 at these levels is unknown. Previously we have shown that mouse lung function is altered by long-term exposure to 890 ppm CO2. Here, we assess the broader systemic physiological responses to this exposure.

In Vitro primary human airway epithelial whole exhaust exposure

The method outlined in this article is a customization of the whole exhaust exposure method generated by Mullins et al. (2016) using reprogrammed primary human airway epithelial cells as described by Martinovich et al. (2017). It has been used successfully to generate recently published data (Landwehr et al. 2021). The goal was to generate an exhaust exposure model where exhaust is collected from a modern engine, real-world exhaust concentrations are used and relevant tissues exposed to assess the effects of multiple biodiesel exposures.