Allergen-induced accumulation of eosinophils and lymphocytes in skin chambers is associated with increased levels of interleukin-4 and sVCAM-1.

Background: The aim of the study was to characterize the kinetic accumulation of various inflammatory mediators in allergen-challenged skin chambers applied on patients with pollen-related allergic rhinitis/mild asthma.

Methods: Skin blisters were induced on the forearms and challenged with allergen or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Peripheral blood was drawn before and 8 h after challenge for analysis of differential cell counts, sVCAM-1, and alpha2-macroglobulin.

Effects of inhaled histamine, methacholine and capsaicin on sputum levels of alpha 2-macroglobulin.

Background: Plasma exudation-derived proteins and peptides contribute significantly to inflammation in the airway mucosa in vivo. In the guinea pig trachea both histamine and the neurogenic stimulant capsaicin produce acute mucosal tissue distribution and luminal entry of bulk plasma, whereas cholinergic agonists fail to produce this effect. Of these agents, only histamine induces mucosal exudation of plasma in human nasal airways.

Conformational isomerism of IgG antibodies.

The purpose of this study was to determine why apparently homogeneous IgG antibodies were, in some cases, fractionated into at least two components by liquid-liquid partition chromatography (LLPC) in an aqueous two-phase system. Four mouse monoclonal IgG antibodies, two against albumin, one against IgG and one against thyroxine, were shown to adopt different conformational isomeric forms. The four antibodies existed in an equilibrium between two or three conformational forms, the proportion of which could also be estimated by LLPC.

Effects of two weeks of topical budesonide treatment on microvascular exudative responsiveness in healthy human nasal airways.

Extravasation and luminal entry of plasma (mucosal exudation) is not only a key feature of airway inflammation in rhinitis and asthma but also a major first-line respiratory defence mechanism. Topical steroids are effective antiexudative agents in disease but, so far, little is known about the direct effects of these drugs on the responsiveness of the microcirculation in human airways. In this study, the effects of prolonged budesonide treatment on histamine-induced mucosal exudation of plasma was examined in 42 healthy subjects.

Anti-IgE-induced accumulation of leukocytes, mediators, and albumin in skin chamber fluid from healthy and atopic subjects.

The aim of this study was to examine potential differences between healthy and atopic subjects with regard to IgE-mediated cutaneous inflammation. For this purpose, we analyzed histamine, tryptase, leukotriene B4, albumin, eosinophils, and total leukocytes in skin chamber fluid after challenge with anti-human IgE. We also measured gross skin reactivity (wheal, flare, and late-phase reactions), circulating IgE, and eosinophils, as well as the state of eosinophil activation.

Day-night differences in mucosal plasma proteins in common cold.

Aggravation of symptoms in inflammatory airway diseases is common in the early morning hours, but little is known about day-night differences in the occurrence of plasma exudate on the airway surface. We have therefore examined the plasma macromolecules on the nasal mucosa at different time points. The study comprised 20 subjects who had been inoculated (day 0) with coronavirus intranasally.

Antiallergic actions of high topical doses of terbutaline in human nasal airways.

It is debatable whether beta 2-receptor agonists produce antiallergic effects in human airways. This question has been addressed in the present study by examination of both mast-cell indices and the physiologic response to allergen challenge in human nasal airways. Twelve asymptomatic patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis were investigated outside the pollen season.

Exudative hyperresponsiveness of the airway microcirculation in seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Background: Mucosal exudation of plasma is a non-injurious, physiological response of the airway microcirculation to different inflammatory processes. The exudative response is similar in the nose and bronchi and exudation occurs in both allergic asthma and rhinitis. The exudative response is a specific end-organ function of the mucosal microcirculation that may be altered in airway diseases.

Modulation of antigen-antibody complexations by immunoglobulins.

In this investigation, the modulating effects of non-immune human IgG and rheumatoid factors (RFs) on antigen-antibody complexations were studied. Non-immune human IgG, as well as RF, were found to inhibit the binding of antigen to specific antibodies of both human and rabbit origin. In addition, human immunoglobulins were also able to modify the composition of preformed antigen-antibody complexes.

Allergen challenge-induced entry of alpha 2-macroglobulin and tryptase into human nasal and bronchial airways.

Background: Microvascular-epithelial exudation of bulk plasma may characterize inflammatory airway diseases. This study compares the acute allergen challenge-induced mast cell and exudative responses in nasal and bronchial airways. The focus is on alpha 2-macroglobulin as an index of luminal entry of plasma exudates.

Glucocorticoids may not inhibit plasma exudation by direct vascular antipermeability effects in human airways.

In animal airways, single topical treatment with glucocorticoids produces a prompt vascular anti-permeability effect that may last for several hours. This has been considered a potentially important anti-inflammatory action in human airways. The present study, involving nine healthy subjects, examines whether nasal budesonide application affects histamine-induced mucosal exudation of plasma and plasma-derived mediators in human airways.

Glucocorticoid-induced attenuation of mucosal exudation of fibrinogen and bradykinins in seasonal allergic rhinitis.

The mucosal plasma exudate with its proteins, enzymes, derived peptides, and matrix molecules is an important factor in inflammatory airway diseases. This study investigated whether topical glucocorticosteroid treatment influences mucosal exudation of bulk plasma (fibrinogen) and the generation of plasma-derived mediators (bradykinins) in seasonal allergic rhinitis. Twenty-two patients with birch-pollen-induced allergic rhinitis participated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study during the birch pollen season in 1989.

Microvascular exudative hyperresponsiveness in human coronavirus-induced common cold.

Background: The inflammatory response of the airway microcirculation in rhinitis and asthma may be recorded as luminal entry of plasma macromolecules (mucosal exudation). This study examines the exudative responsiveness of the subepithelial microvessels in subjects with and without common cold after inoculation with coronavirus.

Methods: The airway mucosa was exposed to exudative concentrations of histamine (40 and 400 micrograms/ml) before and six days after inoculation.

Histamine-induced airway mucosal exudation of bulk plasma and plasma-derived mediators is not inhibited by intravenous bronchodilators.

Experimental data suggest the possibility that common bronchodilators, such as the xanthines and beta 2-adrenoceptor agonists, may produce microvascular anti-permeability effects in the subepithelial microcirculation of the airways. In this study, we have examined the effect of bronchodilators given intravenously on exudation of different-sized plasma proteins (albumin and fibrinogen) and the generation of plasma-derived peptides (bradykinins) in human nasal airways challenged with histamine. In a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled and randomised trial, 12 normal volunteers were given i.

Allergen-induced biphasic plasma exudation responses in guinea pig large airways.

In this study involving sensitized guinea pigs (anesthetized intramuscularly with a 3:2 mixture of ketamine+xylazine, 1 ml/kg), we applied allergen (ovalbumin) selectively to the tracheobronchial mucosa (sparing the nasal passages and the terminal airways) and examined the occurrence of immediate and late-phase inflammatory exudation of plasma and plasma-derived mediators (bradykinins) into the airway lumen. The experiments were terminated 10 to 480 min after challenge. A selective lavage that sampled the surface liquids of the extrapulmonary bronchi and the lower trachea was performed.

Mucosal exudation of fibrinogen in coronavirus-induced common colds.

We studied the mucosal exudation of plasma in relation to pathophysiological events during an induced common cold. Coronavirus 229E was inoculated nasally in 20 healthy volunteers under controlled conditions. Ten volunteers developed the common cold, determined by symptom scores and serology.

Plasma exudation and solute absorption across the airway mucosa.

The airway mucosa responds to inflammatory provocations with bulk exudation of plasma into the airway tissue (vascular exudation) and lumen (mucosal exudation). The intensity and time course of the exudative response can be relevantly examined by sampling and analysing airway surface liquids, because the luminal entry of plasma proteins/tracers promptly and quantitatively reflects the exudative response of the airways. The process of mucosal exudation of plasma is a prominent feature of airway inflammation and has been demonstrated in rhinitis, asthma, and bronchitis.

Bronchial exudation of bulk plasma at allergen challenge in allergic asthma.

This study examined plasma exudation into the bronchial lumen after allergen challenge. A novel low-trauma technique was developed to challenge and lavage a medium-sized lingular or middle lobe bronchus. Eleven subjects with challenge-assessed pollen-sensitive asthma were allocated to fiberbronchoscopy in the supine position.

The effect of non-immune IgG on antigen-antibody complexation.

Two preparations of human IgG, one acylated with beta-propiolactone (acylated IgG) and one treated at pH 4 with traces of pepsin (pH 4-IgG), were used to study the effect of non-immune IgG on antigen-antibody interactions in the antigen excess zone. Employing two immunological methods together with size-exclusion chromatography, we found that the formation of human albumin-rabbit anti-human albumin complexes was inhibited in the presence of human IgG. In addition, IgG seemed to promote the aggregation of already formed complexes.

Topical vasoconstrictor (oxymetazoline) does not affect histamine-induced mucosal exudation of plasma in human nasal airways.

Mucosal exudation of almost unfiltered plasma proteins, plasma-derived mediators and fluid has recently been advanced as a major respiratory defence mechanism. Oxymetazoline chloride is a commonly used decongestant agent. By reducing blood flow it may reduce mucosal exudation and thus compromise the mucosal defence capacity.

Plasma exudation as a first line respiratory mucosal defence.

A great variety of provocations of the airway mucosa produce extravasation of plasma from the abundant subepithelial microvessels. A plasma exudate has important actions through its volume, its specific and unspecific binding proteins, its enzyme systems, and its potent peptides (of kinin, complement, coagulation, fibrinolysis and other systems). If allowed to operate on the surface of an intact mucosa the plasma exudate would have important roles in normal airway defence.

The 'nasal pool' device applies controlled concentrations of solutes on human nasal airway mucosa and samples its surface exudations/secretions.

A 'nasal pool' (NP) device, a compressible plastic container with an adapted nozzle, was used to perform a continuous 10-min nasal provocation and lavage. This novel technique brings known concentrations of agents into contact with a large and defined area of the nasal mucosal surface for extended periods of time. Simultaneously, the surface exudations/secretions of the same nasal mucosa are effectively sampled by the NP fluid.

Albumin, bradykinins, and eosinophil cationic protein on the nasal mucosal surface in patients with hay fever during natural allergen exposure.

This study examined plasma- and eosinophil-derived products in nasal lavage fluids obtained from patients with hay fever during natural allergen exposure. Nine patients with strictly seasonal allergic rhinitis and five normal, nonallergic subjects (control group) were studied. Nasal lavages were performed twice weekly, starting 1 week before the expected birch-pollen season and continuing for 6 weeks, thereby covering the entire birch-pollen season.