Cigarette smoke-initiated autoimmunity facilitates sensitisation to elastin-induced COPD-like pathologies in mice.

It is currently not understood whether cigarette smoke exposure facilitates sensitisation to self-antigens and whether ensuing auto-reactive T cells drive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-associated pathologies.To address this question, mice were exposed to cigarette smoke for 2 weeks. Following a 2-week period of rest, mice were challenged intratracheally with elastin for 3 days or 1 month.

Nuclear erythroid 2 p45-related factor-2 Nrf2 ameliorates cigarette smoking-induced mucus overproduction in airway epithelium and mouse lungs.

Background And Objective: Nuclear erythroid 2 p45-related factor-2 (Nrf2) is known to play important roles in airway disorders, whereas little has been investigated about its direct role in airway mucus hypersecretion. The aim of this study is to determine whether this factor could protect pulmonary epithelium and mouse airway from cigarette-induced mucus overproduction.

Methods: Using genetic approaches, the role of Nrf2 on cigarette smoking extracts (CSE) induced MUC5AC expression was investigated in lung A549 cells.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of trachea: a case report and review of literature.

Primary tracheal tumors are relatively rare. Here we report one case of primary adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea which was ever misdiagnosed as asthma and hysteria. In this case, the pulmonary function test was normal, and firstly no obvious abnormalities were found in laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy and CT scan of chest.

[Serum from partial hepatectomy rat and hepatocyte growth factor stimulate bone marrow cell expressing albumin and alpha fetoprotein].

Objective: To explore the effect of serum from partial hepatectomy (PH) rat and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on expression of albumin and AFP of bone marrow cells.

Methods: The bone marrow mono-nucleated cells were separated from SD rats and cultured in three groups: (1) The medium only group as control was added normal fetal bovine serum; (2) Rat hepatic injury serum group (was added 15% rat serum from 2-AAF+PH model); (3) HGF group (HGF 20 ng/ml). The role of these factors was determined by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot, using AFP and albumin as special hepatocytic markers.