Quantitative assessment of cyanide in cystic fibrosis sputum and its oxidative catabolism by hypochlorous acid.

Rationale: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are known to produce cyanide (CN) although challenges exist in determinations of total levels, the precise bioactive levels, and specificity of its production by CF microflora, especially P. aeruginosa. Our objective was to measure total CN levels in CF sputa by a simple and novel technique in P.

Farnesyltransferase Inhibition Exacerbates Eosinophilic Inflammation and Airway Hyperreactivity in Mice with Experimental Asthma: The Complex Roles of Ras GTPase and Farnesylpyrophosphate in Type 2 Allergic Inflammation.

Ras, a small GTPase protein, is thought to mediate Th2-dependent eosinophilic inflammation in asthma. Ras requires cell membrane association for its biological activity, and this requires the posttranslational modification of Ras with an isoprenyl group by farnesyltransferase (FTase) or geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTase). We hypothesized that inhibition of FTase using FTase inhibitor (FTI)-277 would attenuate allergic asthma by depleting membrane-associated Ras.