Publications by authors named "J Chihara"
Background: The comorbidity of asthma and allergic rhinitis is remarkably high, but not much is known about the effects of this combined condition on the quality of life. We aimed to evaluate the factors associated with asthma exacerbations and the effect of the exacerbations on the quality of life (QOL) through a one-year, large-scale, observational study in Japanese patients with asthma and rhinitis.
Methods: A case survey by attending physicians and a patient survey was conducted at each assessment timepoint over a period of one year.
Article Synopsis
- Active metabolites of vitamin A, called retinoic acids (RAs), are crucial for immune responses and help prevent the death of human eosinophils, but the exact mechanisms involved are not well understood.
- Research found that RAs increase the expression of ICAM-1 in eosinophils, which seemed to support their survival, leading to the testing of whether RAs ensure eosinophil survival through ICAM-1 signaling.
- Results showed that while RAs do enhance ICAM-1 expression via specific receptors, this increased ICAM-1 does not actually contribute to extending eosinophil survival, suggesting a complex relationship between RAs and immune cell longevity.
Estrogen influences the disease severity and sexual dimorphism in asthma, which is caused by complex mechanisms. Besides classical nuclear estrogen receptors (ERαβ), G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) was recently established as an estrogen receptor on the cell membrane. Although GPER is associated with immunoregulatory functions of estrogen, the pathophysiological role of GPER in allergic inflammatory lung disease has not been examined.
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