Coexpression of type 2 immune targets in sputum-derived epithelial and dendritic cells from asthmatic subjects.

Background: Noninvasive sputum sampling has enabled the identification of biomarkers in asthmatic patients. Studies of discrete cell populations in sputum can enhance measurements compared with whole sputum in which changes in rare cells and cell-cell interactions can be masked.

Objective: We sought to enrich for sputum-derived human bronchial epithelial cells (sHBECs) and sputum-derived myeloid type 1 dendritic cells (sDCs) to describe transcriptional coexpression of targets associated with a type 2 immune response.

Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest in a patient with systemic sclerosis and Raynaud phenomenon.

Therapeutic hypothermia favorably impacts neurologic outcomes in patients after cardiopulmonary arrest, although the appropriate target temperature is less clear. Its safety profile in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and Raynaud phenomenon (RP), who may be at increased risk for ischemic complications, has not been addressed in the literature, to our knowledge. Digital lesions are commonly seen in patients with SSc, and cold-induced myocardial ischemia has also been reported.

Leptin signaling targets the thyrotropin-releasing hormone gene promoter in vivo.

The regulation of TRH gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) by leptin is critical for normal function of the thyroid axis in rodents and humans. The TRH neuron in the PVH expresses both leptin and melanocortin-4 receptors, suggesting that both signaling systems may regulate TRH gene expression in vivo. Indeed, the TRH promoter responds to both of these signaling pathways in cell culture through identified cis-acting elements, which include signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 and cAMP-response element binding protein binding sites that mediate leptin and melanocortin responses, respectively.