Cigarette smoke induces molecular responses in respiratory tissues of ApoE(-/-) mice that are progressively deactivated upon cessation.

Cigarette smoking is the primary etiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a risk factor for both lung and cardiovascular (CV) diseases, which are rarely investigated concomitantly. Although smoking cessation shows clear CV risk benefit, lung-related disease risk remains higher in former smokers than in never smokers. We sought to determine the differential molecular responses of murine respiratory tissues to better understand the toxicity pathways involved in smoking-related disease risk and those related to the benefits of smoking cessation.

Lung inflammatory effects, tumorigenesis, and emphysema development in a long-term inhalation study with cigarette mainstream smoke in mice.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, yet there is little mechanistic information available in the literature. To improve this, laboratory models for cigarette mainstream smoke (MS) inhalation-induced chronic disease development are needed. The current study investigated the effects of exposing male A/J mice to MS (6h/day, 5 days/week at 150 and 300 mg total particulate matter per cubic meter) for 2.

The transcriptome of Nrf2-/- mice provides evidence for impaired cell cycle progression in the development of cigarette smoke-induced emphysematous changes.

Cigarette smoke (CS) imposes a strong oxidative burden on exposed tissues resulting in a severely disturbed oxidant/antioxidant balance, which in the context of chronic exposure is assumed to be a key contributor to CS-related diseases. Because of its emerging central role in orchestrating the general cellular antioxidant response, the pathway leading to the activation of the transcription factor Nrf2 has received mounting attention over the past decade in investigations aimed at elucidating CS-induced pathophysiological mechanisms. To comprehensively characterize the impact of Nrf2 in acute and subchronic smoking scenarios, Nrf2(-/-) mice and their wild-type (wt) ICR littermates were exposed to either ambient air (sham exposure) or one of three doses of CS for up to 5 months, with two postexposure endpoints of 1 and 13 days.

Effect of adjuvant on reactogenicity and long-term immunogenicity of the malaria Vaccine ICC-1132 in macaques.

ICC-1132 is a malaria vaccine candidate based on a modified hepatitis B virus core particle (HBc) bearing putative protective epitopes from the circumsporozoite protein (CS) of Plasmodium falciparum. While the epitope carrier itself is immunogenic, its potency can be increased by formulation with adjuvants. As a prelude to Phase I clinical trials, rhesus macaques were immunised twice with GMP grade ICC--1132 in saline or formulated with the adjuvants Alhydrogel (Alhydrogel) or Montanide((R)) ISA 720 (Montanide).

Protection of macaques against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by a subunit vaccine based on a fusion protein of antigen 85B and ESAT-6.

Various new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates in combination with new delivery systems, including subunit vaccines, are currently being evaluated by a number of laboratories. One vaccine candidate that has shown promising protective capacity in mice and guinea pigs is a fusion of Ag85B and ESAT-6. In this study, we have investigated the efficacy of this Ag85B-ESAT-6 fusion protein vaccine in a non-human primate model for TB.

High-resolution X-ray microtomography for the detection of lung tumors in living mice.

In the present study, the feasibility of applying high-resolution microtomography (micro-CT) for the detection of lung tumors was investigated in live mice at an early and more advanced stage of tumor development. The chest area of anesthesized mice was scanned by X-ray micro-CT. In mice with a minor and heavy tumor load, micro-CT proved to be a fast and noninvasive imaging device for the detection of lung tumors.

Experimental infection of the olive baboon (Paplio anubis) with Plasmodium knowlesi: severe disease accompanied by cerebral involvement.

Experimental systems that model some of the complex interactions between parasite and host can be extremely valuable in identifying and developing new prophylactics and therapeutics against human diseases. Because primates have similar immune systems to humans, we have characterized a baboon model for understanding host response to Plasmodium knowlesi. Ten intact olive baboons (Papio anubis) of either sex were experimentally infected with P.