Publications by authors named "Faith Taliaferro"

Background: Dupilumab, a mAb targeting IL-4Rα, improves upper and lower airway symptoms in patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), but the mechanisms leading to clinical improvement are not fully elucidated.

Objective: Our aim was to identify the mechanistic basis of clinical improvement in patients with AERD treated with dupilumab.

Methods: A total of 22 patients with AERD were treated with dupilumab for 3 months for severe asthma and/or chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

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Article Synopsis
  • Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is characterized by eosinophilic asthma and nasal polyposis, and treatment with anti-IL-5 therapy, such as mepolizumab, shows clinical benefits beyond just reducing eosinophils.
  • In a study of 18 AERD patients on mepolizumab, significant reductions in peripheral eosinophils and basophils, as well as lower levels of inflammatory eicosanoids, were observed compared to matched subjects not on the treatment.
  • The treatment also led to changes in nasal epithelial cell gene expression related to tight junctions and cilium organization, indicating a broader impact of IL-5 inhibition on respiratory inflammation in AER
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Background And Aims: Very early onset inflammatory bowel disease [VEOIBD] is characterized by intestinal inflammation affecting infants and children less than 6 years of age. To date, over 60 monogenic aetiologies of VEOIBD have been identified, many characterized by highly penetrant recessive or dominant variants in underlying immune and/or epithelial pathways. We sought to identify the genetic cause of VEOIBD in a subset of patients with a unique clinical presentation.

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There is pressing urgency to understand the pathogenesis of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus clade 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the disease COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein binds angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and in concert with host proteases, principally transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), promotes cellular entry. The cell subsets targeted by SARS-CoV-2 in host tissues and the factors that regulate ACE2 expression remain unknown.

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