Background: Long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly used to treat asthma, however, some children lack response to the addition of LABA. This might be partially due to the presence of the Arg16Gly polymorphism, encoded by rs1042713 G>A in the ADRB2 gene. Carrying the A allele (Arg16) at this variant has been associated with an increased risk of exacerbations despite LABA treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) drive lung function decline in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). While the respiratory microbiota is clearly associated with RTI pathogenesis in infants without CF, data on infants with CF is scarce. We compared nasal microbiota development between infants with CF and controls and assessed associations between early-life nasal microbiota, RTIs, and antibiotic treatment in infants with CF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCeramides are essential lipids involved in forming complex sphingolipids and acting as signaling molecules. They result from the N-acylation of a sphingoid base and a CoA-activated fatty acid, a reaction catalyzed by the ceramide synthase (CerS) family of enzymes. Yet, the precise structural details and catalytic mechanisms of CerSs have remained elusive.
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