A Prospective Observational Study of Hypogammaglobulinemia in the First Year After Lung Transplantation.

Background: Immunosuppressive therapies have led to improved survival for lung transplant (LT) recipients but these therapies can lead to hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG) and potentially an increased risk of infection. Large prospective studies have not been performed to evaluate the impact of HGG on outcomes for LT recipients.

Methods: This is a single-center prospective observational study of LT recipients.

A 10-year experience of a novel and safe modified environmental rush immunotherapy protocol.

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is an effective treatment option for allergic rhinitis. Although conventional AIT takes 6 months to reach maintenance dosing, rush AIT accelerates the build-up period and reaches the maintenance dose months earlier. However, accelerated schedules of AIT carry an increased risk of systemic reactions (SR).

Focal adhesion kinase-mediated activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β regulates IL-33 receptor internalization and IL-33 signaling.

IL-33, a relatively new member of the IL-1 cytokine family, plays a crucial role in allergic inflammation and acute lung injury. Long form ST2 (ST2L), the receptor for IL-33, is expressed on immune effector cells and lung epithelia and plays a critical role in triggering inflammation. We have previously shown that ST2L stability is regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system; however, its upstream internalization has not been studied.

Phenotypic and genotypic association of epithelial IL1RL1 to human TH2-like asthma.

Background: Severe asthma remains poorly characterized, although it likely consists of at least 1 phenotype with features of TH2-like inflammation. IL1RL1, encoding both the IL-33 receptor, ST2L, and decoy receptor, sST2, has been genetically associated with asthma, though the mechanism for susceptibility remains unknown.

Objective: Given previous data supporting a role for IL1RL1 in TH2 inflammation, we hypothesized that ST2L expression might be increased in TH2-like asthma and that expression levels would be associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL1RL1, possibly explaining its genetic relationship with asthma.

A novel scoring system to distinguish vocal cord dysfunction from asthma.

Background: Vocal cord dysfunction is often misdiagnosed and mistreated as asthma, which can lead to increased and unnecessary medication use and increased health care utilization.

Objective: To develop a valid scoring index that could help distinguish vocal cord dysfunction from asthma.

Methods: We compared the demographics, comorbidities, clinical symptoms, and symptom triggers of subjects with vocal cord dysfunction (n = 89) and those with asthma (n = 59).

A retrospective analysis comparing subjects with isolated and coexistent vocal cord dysfunction and asthma.

Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) is often misdiagnosed as asthma or complicates coexisting asthma. This study aimed to identify distinguishing clinical characteristics in patients with VCD, asthma, and coexisting VCD and asthma. We conducted a retrospective analysis of demographic and clinical data from 292 patients with VCD, asthma, coexisting VCD and asthma, and control subjects from an outpatient university asthma/allergy clinic.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies tetratricopeptide repeat domain 7A (TTC7A) mutations for combined immunodeficiency with intestinal atresias.

Background: Combined immunodeficiency with multiple intestinal atresias (CID-MIA) is a rare hereditary disease characterized by intestinal obstructions and profound immune defects.

Objective: We sought to determine the underlying genetic causes of CID-MIA by analyzing the exomic sequences of 5 patients and their healthy direct relatives from 5 unrelated families.

Methods: We performed whole-exome sequencing on 5 patients with CID-MIA and 10 healthy direct family members belonging to 5 unrelated families with CID-MIA.

Unique N-linked glycosylation of CasBrE Env influences its stability, processing, and viral infectivity but not its neurotoxicity.

The envelope protein (Env) from the CasBrE murine leukemia virus (MLV) can cause acute spongiform neurodegeneration analogous to that induced by prions. Upon central nervous system (CNS) infection, Env is expressed as multiple isoforms owing to differential asparagine (N)-linked glycosylation. Because N-glycosylation can affect protein folding, stability, and quality control, we explored whether unique CasBrE Env glycosylation features could influence neurovirulence.

Community opinions regarding oral immunotherapy for food allergies.

Background: Food oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a promising but still investigational new therapy for food allergy.

Objective: We sought to investigate beliefs and opinions among OIT participants and nonparticipants to better understand community awareness of this therapy.

Methods: A 30-question on-line survey was administered to members, website visitors, and social media followers of the Kids with Food Allergy Foundation.

Retrovirus-induced spongiform neurodegeneration is mediated by unique central nervous system viral targeting and expression of env alone.

Certain murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) can induce progressive noninflammatory spongiform neurodegeneration similar to that caused by prions. The primary MLV determinants responsible have been mapped to within the env gene; however, it has remained unclear how env mediates disease, whether non-Env viral components are required, and what central nervous system (CNS) cells constitute the critical CNS targets. To address these questions, we examined the effect of transplanting engraftable C17.

Gene therapy for arthritis.

Arthritis is among the leading causes of disability in the developed world. There remains no cure for this disease and the current treatments are only modestly effective at slowing the disease's progression and providing symptomatic relief. The clinical effectiveness of current treatment regimens has been limited by short half-lives of the drugs and the requirement for repeated systemic administration.

Inflammatory cytokine regulation of transgene expression in human fibroblast-like synoviocytes infected with adeno-associated virus.

Objective: An ideal gene transfer vector for chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) would provide local transgene expression only when the disease is active. To determine whether adeno-associated virus (AAV) possesses this ability, the effects of inflammatory cytokines on transgene expression were evaluated in human RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS).

Methods: Human FLS were infected with AAV in the presence or absence of inflammatory cytokines or synovial fluid obtained from patients with RA.

Proteasome inhibition enhances AAV-mediated transgene expression in human synoviocytes in vitro and in vivo.

To explore the potential applicability of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primary human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) derived from patients with RA were infected with rAAV encoding mouse IL-10 under the control of the CMV promoter. Addition of the proteasome inhibitor carbobenzoxy-l-leucyl-l-leucyl-l-leucinal (zLLL) to the cultures dramatically enhanced expression of the IL-10 transgene, in a dose-dependent manner. The increased expression was transient, peaking at 3 days and returning to near baseline by 7 days.

Reexamination of amphotropic murine leukemia virus neurovirulence: neural stem cell-mediated microglial infection fails to induce acute neurodegeneration.

The 4070A amphotropic murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) has been variably reported to harbor neurovirulence determinants within its env gene. In this report we reexamined this issue by applying two approaches previously demonstrated to amplify murine leukemia virus neurovirulence. The first approach involved introducing the 4070A env gene into the background of Friend virus clone FB29 to enhance peripheral virus replication kinetics and central nervous system entry.