Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol
December 2010
Cilia are traditionally classified as motile or primary. Motile cilia are restricted to specific populations of well-differentiated epithelial cells, including those in the airway, brain ventricles, and oviducts. Primary cilia are nonmotile, solitary structures that are present in many cell types, and often have sensory functions such as in the retina and renal tubules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common disease with several known extrarenal manifestations, although no known pulmonary features. The formation of renal cysts in ADPKD has been attributed to dysfunction of primary cilia and the primary cilia-related proteins polycystin-1 (in 85% of cases) and polycystin-2 in renal epithelial cells. The goals of this study were to characterize the normal expression of polycystin-1 in the motile cilia of airway epithelial cells and to evaluate lung structure in ADPKD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent advances in the understanding of pulmonary arterial hypertension have led to new therapeutic options, although the disease remains incurable and continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Disease-specific therapies have been approved for use in the US, including epoprostenol and its various analogs, endothelin receptor antagonists, and phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors. The use of combination therapy with agents from more than one of these drug classes is becoming increasingly common, although guidelines establishing optimal combinations are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPseudomonas aeruginosa is an important bacterial pathogen, particularly as a cause of infections in hospitalised patients, immunocompromised hosts and patients with cystic fibrosis. Surveillance of nosocomial P. aeruginosa infections has revealed trends of increasing antimicrobial resistance, including carbapenem resistance and multidrug resistance.
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