Air pollutants, genes and early childhood acute bronchitis.

Background: Studies have reported gene-by-environment interaction for chronic respiratory conditions but none on acute illnesses in children. We investigated, longitudinally, whether genotype modifies the relationship of environmental exposures (second-hand tobacco smoke, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particulate matter <2.5μm (PM2.

Distinct tachykinin NK(1) receptor function in primate nucleus tractus solitarius neurons is dysregulated after second-hand tobacco smoke exposure.

Background And Purpose: Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure in children increases the risk of asthma and sudden infant death syndrome. Epidemiological and experimental data have suggested SHS can alter neuroplasticity in the CNS, associated with substance P. We hypothesized that exposure to SHS in young primates changed the effect of substance P on the plasticity of neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), where airway sensory information is first processed in the CNS.

Exposure to air pollution in critical prenatal time windows and IgE levels in newborns.

The objective of this study was to analyze the mechanisms by which exposure to ambient air pollutants influences respiratory health may include altered prenatal immune development. To analyze associations between elevated cord serum Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and maternal air pollution exposure during each month of gestation. Total cord serum IgE was determined by the CAP system and mothers' total IgE levels by nephelometry for 459 births in the Czech Republic from May 1994 to mid-January 1997.

House-dust mite allergen and ozone exposure decreases histamine H3 receptors in the brainstem respiratory nuclei.

Allergic airway diseases in children are a common and a growing health problem. Changes in the central nervous system (CNS) have been implicated in contributing to some of the symptoms. We hypothesized that airway allergic diseases are associated with altered histamine H3 receptor expression in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus, where lung/airway and nasal sensory afferents terminate, respectively.

Issues and challenges of non-tenure-track research faculty: the UC Davis School of Medicine experience.

Nationally, medical schools are appointing growing numbers of research faculty into non-tenure-track positions, paralleling a similar trend in universities. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a statement expressing concern that the marked growth in non-tenure-track faculty can undermine educational quality, academic freedom, and collegiality. Like other medical schools, the UC Davis School of Medicine has had a rise in non-tenure-track faculty in order to enhance its research mission, in particular in the Salaried Adjunct faculty track (SalAdj).

Secondhand smoke exposure alters K+ channel function and intrinsic cell excitability in a subset of second-order airway neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius of young guinea pigs.

Extended exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in infants and young children increases the incidence of cough, wheeze, airway hyper-reactivity and the prevalence and earlier onset of asthma. The adverse effects may result from environmentally-induced plasticity in the neural network regulating cough and airway function. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in brainstem slices containing anatomically identified second-order lung afferent neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), we determined the effects of extended SHS exposure in young guinea pigs for a duration equivalent to human childhood on the intrinsic excitability of NTS neurons.

Secondhand tobacco smoke exposure differentially alters nucleus tractus solitarius neurons at two different ages in developing non-human primates.

Exposing children to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is associated with increased risk for asthma, bronchiolitis and SIDS. The role for changes in the developing CNS contributing to these problems has not been fully explored. We used rhesus macaques to test the hypothesis that SHS exposure during development triggers neuroplastic changes in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), where lung sensory information related to changes in airway and lung function is first integrated.

Generational forecasting in academic medicine: a unique method of planning for success in the next two decades.

Multigenerational teams are essential to the missions of academic health centers (AHCs). Generational forecasting using Strauss and Howe's predictive model, "the generational diagonal," can be useful for anticipating and addressing issues so that each generation is effective. Forecasts are based on the observation that cyclical historical events are experienced by all generations, but the response of each generation differs according to its phase of life and previous defining experiences.

Effect of perinatal secondhand tobacco smoke exposure on in vivo and intrinsic airway structure/function in non-human primates.

Infants exposed to second hand smoke (SHS) experience more problems with wheezing. This study was designed to determine if perinatal SHS exposure increases intrinsic and/or in vivo airway responsiveness to methacholine and whether potential structural/cellular alterations in the airway might explain the change in responsiveness. Pregnant rhesus monkeys were exposed to filtered air (FA) or SHS (1 mg/m(3) total suspended particulates) for 6 h/day, 5 days/week starting at 50 days gestational age.

Five-fold increase in pediatric parapneumonic empyema since introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

A retrospective review of medical records for all pediatric parapneumonic empyema (PPE) patients admitted to our hospital from 1996 to 2006 revealed that PPE increased 5-fold in the post-heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) period (2001-2005) relative to the pre-PCV7 period (1996-2000), from 13 cases to 65. Most of this increase was associated with culture-negative empyema, which accounted for 61% of all post-2000 cases; 19% was culture-positive pneumococcal empyema. Our analysis indicates that non-PCV7 serotypes became more prevalent at our institution after introduction of the vaccine.

Extended secondhand tobacco smoke exposure induces plasticity in nucleus tractus solitarius second-order lung afferent neurons in young guinea pigs.

Infants and young children experiencing extended exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have an increased occurrence of asthma, as well as increased cough, wheeze, mucus production and airway hyper-reactivity. Plasticity in lung reflex pathways has been implicated in causing these symptoms, as have changes in substance P-related mechanisms. Using whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings and immunohistochemistry in brainstem slices containing anatomically identified second-order lung afferent nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neurons, we determined whether extended SHS exposure during the equivalent period of human childhood modified evoked or spontaneous excitatory synaptic transmission, and whether those modifications were altered by endogenous substance P.

Effect of secondhand cigarette smoke, RSV bronchiolitis and parental asthma on urinary cysteinyl LTE4.

Cysteinyl leukotrienes promote airway inflammation, bronchoconstriction and mucus hypersecretion. Cigarette smoking and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis are known to increase urinary cysteinyl leukotriene E4 (uLTE4), the end product of the cysteinyl leukotriene biosynthetic pathway. We tested the following hypotheses: (1) Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure increases uLTE4 in well infants and in those hospitalized for RSV bronchiolitis; (2) Length of hospital stay for those with RSV bronchiolitis correlates with uLTE4; and (3) Infants with parent(s) with asthma will have higher uLTE4.

Perinatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure alters the immune response and airway innervation in infant primates.

Background: Epidemiologic studies associate environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure with childhood asthma.

Objective: To investigate whether specific pathophysiological alterations that contribute to asthma development in human beings can be induced in infant monkeys after perinatal ETS exposure.

Methods: Rhesus macaque fetuses/infants were exposed to ETS at 1 mg/m(3) of total suspended particulate matter from 50 days gestational age to 2.

Effects of environmental tobacco smoke exposure on pulmonary immune response in infant monkeys.

Background: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in early life has adverse effects on lung development and increases asthma incidence and susceptibility to infection. We have previously reported that perinatal and postnatal exposure to ETS in infant monkeys leads to an impaired T(H)1 immune response in peripheral blood.

Objective: Determine whether ETS exposure during the perinatal period alters pulmonary immune maturation in the neonatal lung.

The effects of inhaled corticosteroids on intrinsic responsiveness and histology of airways from infant monkeys exposed to house dust mite allergen and ozone.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are recommended to treat infants with asthma, some with intermittent asthma. We previously showed that exposing infant monkeys to allergen/ozone resulted in asthma-like characteristics of their airways. We evaluated the effects of ICS on histology and intrinsic responsiveness of allergen/ozone-exposed and normal infant primate airways.

Early childhood lower respiratory illness and air pollution.

Background: Few studies of air pollutants address morbidity in preschool children. In this study we evaluated bronchitis in children from two Czech districts: Teplice, with high ambient air pollution, and Prachatice, characterized by lower exposures.

Objectives: Our goal was to examine rates of lower respiratory illnesses in preschool children in relation to ambient particles and hydrocarbons.

Effects of environmental tobacco smoke on the developing immune system of infant monkeys.

Background: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with an increased incidence of allergic and infectious diseases among children that is thought to be partly due to the immaturity of the immune system.

Objective: We sought to investigate the effects of ETS exposure on immune development during the first year of life in the nonhuman primate.

Methods: Fifteen neonatal rhesus monkeys studied to 13 months of postnatal age were randomized into 3 groups: (1) exposure to filtered air, (2) continuous ETS exposure beginning at gestation day 50 (perinatal ETS); and (3) exposure to ETS beginning at 6 months of age (6-month ETS).

Asthma/allergic airways disease: does postnatal exposure to environmental toxicants promote airway pathobiology?

Unlabelled: The recent, dramatic increase in the incidence of childhood asthma suggests a role for environmental contaminants in the promotion of interactions between allergens and the respiratory system of young children. To establish whether exposure to an environmental stressor, ozone (O3), and an allergen, house dust mite (HDMA), during early childhood promotes remodeling of the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit (EMTU) of the tracheobronchial airway wall by altering postnatal development, infant rhesus monkeys were exposed to cyclic episodes of filtered air (FA), HDMA, O3, or HDMA plus O3. The following alterations in the EMTU were found after exposure to HDMA, O3, or HDMA plus O3: (1) reduced airway number; (2) hyperplasia of bronchial epithelium; (3) increased mucous cells; (4) shifts in distal airway smooth muscle bundle orientation and abundance to favor hyperreactivity; (5) interrupted postnatal basement membrane zone differentiation; (6) modified epithelial nerve fiber distribution; and (7) reorganization of the airway vascular and immune system.

Air pollutants and cough.

Epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to air pollution is associated with respiratory symptoms and decreases in lung function. This paper reviews recent literature showing that exposure to particulate matter, irritant gases, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), mixed pollutants, and molds is associated with an increase in cough and wheeze. Some pollutants, like particulate matter and mixed pollutants, appear to increase cough at least as much as wheeze.

Environmental tobacco smoke suppresses nuclear factor-kappaB signaling to increase apoptosis in infant monkey lungs.

Rationale: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in early life has adverse effects on lung development. Apoptosis plays an essential role in development; however, the molecular mechanisms of pulmonary apoptosis induced by environmental tobacco smoke is unknown.

Objectives: To investigate the mechanistic role of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, a critical cell survival pathway, in the developing lungs exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.

Plasticity of brainstem mechanisms of cough.

The cough reflex is a brainstem reflex, consisting of specific sensory afferent nerves which trigger the reflex, by transmitting the sensory input over vagal or laryngeal nerves to a brainstem circuitry which processes and ultimately transforms the sensory input into a complex motor output to generate cough. The first synaptic target for the primary cough-related sensory input is the second-order neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). This position in the reflex pathway and intricate local circuits within the nucleus make it a strategic site where the sensory information can be modified.

Influence of air pollution on respiratory health during perinatal development.

The respiratory system is a highly ordered structure composed of over 40 cell types involved in a multitude of functions. Development of the lungs spans from embryogenesis to adult life, passing through several distinct stages of growth. 2.

Plasticity in the nucleus tractus solitarius and its influence on lung and airway reflexes.

The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is the first central nervous system (CNS) site for synaptic contact of the primary afferent fibers from the lungs and airways. The signal processing at these synapses will determine the output of the sensory information from the lungs and airways to all downstream synapses in the reflex pathways. The second-order NTS neurons bring to bear their own intrinsic and synaptic properties to temporally and spatially integrate the sensory information with inputs from local networks, higher brain regions, and circulating mediators, to orchestrate a coherent reflex output.

Structural and functional localization of airway effects from episodic exposure of infant monkeys to allergen and/or ozone.

Both allergen and ozone exposure increase asthma symptoms and airway responsiveness in children. Little is known about how these inhalants may differentially modify airway responsiveness in large proximal as compared to small distal airways. We evaluated whether bronchi and respiratory bronchioles from infant monkeys exposed episodically to allergen and/or ozone differentially develop intrinsic hyperresponsiveness to methacholine and whether eosinophils and/or pulmonary neuroendocrine cells play a role.

Urban asthma.

Purpose Of Review: To review the possible reasons why the prevalence and morbidity of asthma are greater in those living in an urban setting.

Recent Findings: Urban asthma is associated with exposure to air pollution, urban allergens, and violence. Outdoor air pollution is a particular problem in urban areas and affects children more than adults.