Radiofrequency septal reduction in symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Background: Alcohol septal ablation remains the only approved nonsurgical therapeutic alternative for patients with drug-resistant hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Radiofrequency (RF) ablation offers another option for treating HOCM.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether irrigated RF ablation can reduce symptomatic outflow tract obstruction in adults with HOCM.

Involvement of A1 adenosine receptors and neural pathways in adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction in mice.

High levels of adenosine can be measured from the lungs of asthmatics, and it is well recognized that aerosolized 5'AMP, the precursor of adenosine, elicits robust bronchoconstriction in patients with this disease. Characterization of mice with elevated adenosine levels secondary to the loss of adenosine deaminase (ADA) expression, the primary metabolic enzyme for adenosine, further support a role for this ubiquitous mediator in the pathogenesis of asthma. To begin to identify pathways by which adenosine can alter airway tone, we examined adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction in four mouse lines, each lacking one of the receptors for this nucleoside.

Retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma controls immunoglobulin production and Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in the adaptive immune response to allergen.

The retinoid-related orphan receptors (ROR) comprise a distinct subfamily of nuclear receptors with the capacity to act as both repressors and activators of transcription. RORgamma, the most recently identified member of the ROR family, has been shown to be important for the development of normal lymphocyte compartments as well as organogenesis of some lymphoid organs. In this report, we examine the capacity of RORgamma-deficient mice to develop an adaptive immune response to Ag using OVA-induced inflammation in mice as a model for allergic airway disease.

Modulatory role for retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha in allergen-induced lung inflammation.

Rationale: Nuclear receptors play a critical role in the regulation of inflammation, thus representing attractive targets for the treatment of asthma.

Objective: In this study, we assess the potential regulatory function of retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORalpha) in the adaptive immune response using ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation as a model.

Methods: Allergen-induced inflammation was compared between wild-type (WT) and staggerer (RORalpha(sg/sg)) mice, a natural mutant strain that is deficient in RORalpha expression.

Identification of A3 receptor- and mast cell-dependent and -independent components of adenosine-mediated airway responsiveness in mice.

Adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction is a well-recognized feature of atopic asthma. Adenosine acts through four different G protein-coupled receptors to produce a myriad of physiological effects. To examine the contribution of the A(3) adenosine receptor to adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction and to assess the contribution of mast cells to this process, we quantified airway responsiveness to aerosolized adenosine in wild-type, A(3) receptor-deficient, and mast cell-deficient mice.

Receptors and pathways mediating the effects of prostaglandin E2 on airway tone.

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) has complex effects on airway tone, and the existence of four PGE(2) [E-prostanoid (EP)] receptors, each with distinct signaling characteristics, has provided a possible explanation for the seemingly contradictory actions of this lipid mediator. To identify the receptors mediating the actions of PGE(2) on bronchomotor tone, we examined its effects on the airways of wild-type and EP receptor-deficient mice. In conscious mice the administration of PGE(2) increased airway responsiveness primarily through the EP1 receptor, although on certain genetic backgrounds a contribution of the EP3 receptor was detected.