Cytologic diagnosis of blastocystis hominis in peritoneal fluid: a case report.

Background: Blastocystis hominis is the most common parasite identified in s worldwide. Although it is commonly identified in stool preparations, unusual to encounter B hominis in abdominal fluid.

Case: A 46-year-old woman presented with the clinical impression of acute peritonitis.

Disease-specific gene expression profiling in multiple models of lung disease.

Rationale: Microarray technology is widely employed for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying complex diseases. However, analyses of individual diseases or models of diseases frequently yield extensive lists of differentially expressed genes with uncertain relationships to disease pathogenesis.

Objectives: To compare gene expression changes in a heterogeneous set of lung disease models in order to identify common gene expression changes seen in diverse forms of lung pathology, as well as relatively small subsets of genes likely to be involved in specific pathophysiological processes.

Adenosine mediates IL-13-induced inflammation and remodeling in the lung and interacts in an IL-13-adenosine amplification pathway.

IL-13 is an important mediator of inflammation and remodeling. We hypothesized that adenosine accumulation, alterations in adenosine receptors, and adenosine-IL-13 autoinduction are critical events in IL-13-induced pathologies. To test this, we characterized the effects of IL-13 overexpression on the levels of adenosine, adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, and adenosine receptors in the murine lung.

Abnormal alveolar development associated with elevated adenine nucleosides.

Adenosine signaling has been characterized in various physiologic systems, but little is known about the role of adenosine signaling in lung development. Alveogenesis and microvascular maturation are the final stages in lung development in mammals. Alveogenesis in the mouse begins on Postnatal Day 5, when the process of secondary septation plays a pivotal role in the expansion of the alveolar sacs and microvascular maturation.

Gene expression profiling in inflammatory airway disease associated with elevated adenosine.

Adenosine has been implicated as a modulator of inflammatory processes central to asthma. However, the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We used Atlas mouse cDNA arrays to analyze differential gene expression in association with lung inflammation resulting from elevated adenosine in adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient mice.