Effect and mechanism of allergen-specific immunotherapy on small airway dysfunction in children with asthma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) on small airway dysfunction (SAD) and the underlying mechanism with a special focus on basophils.

Methods: Sixty-five children with mild to moderate asthma who were under regular inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment for more than 1 year but whose FEF remained below 65% of the predicted value and had positive results for serum Der p or Der f were enrolled. Children with asthma underwent house dust mite (HDM) subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) treatment for 1 year.

Development and validation of asthma diagnostic scale for children.

Background: To construct an asthma diagnostic scale for children under 6 years old.

Methods: An electronic medical record database was used to develop the scale. Item pool was established through literature survey and expert opinion.

Changing clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients with pneumonia during COVID-19 pandamic: a retrospective study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic have impacts on the prevalence of other pathogens and people's social lifestyle. This study aimed to compare the pathogen, allergen and micronutrient characteristics of pediatric inpatients with pneumonia prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China.

Methods: Patients with pneumonia admitted to the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology of Xinhua Hospital between March-August 2019 and March-August 2020 were recruited.

M1 polarization of macrophages promotes stress-induced hair loss via interleukin-18 and interleukin-1β.

Stress-induced hair loss is a prevalent health concern, with mechanisms that remain unclear, and effective treatment options are not yet available. In this study, we investigated whether stress-induced hair loss was related to an imbalanced immune microenvironment. Screening the skin-infiltrated immune cells in a stressed mouse model, we discovered a significant increase in macrophages upon stress induction.

The analysis of risk factors for recurrent wheezing in infants and clinical intervention.

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting children's health, and recurrent wheezing in infants is closely related to childhood asthma. However, up to now, there is a lack of unified diagnostic criteria and interventions for recurrent wheezing in infants. By analyzing and discussing the risk factors of recurrent wheezing in infants and related intervention measures, we aim to take individualized treatment for different children and reduce the occurrence of recurrent wheezing in infants.

Prohibitin 1 regulates mtDNA release and downstream inflammatory responses.

Exposure of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to the cytosol activates innate immune responses. But the mechanisms by which mtDNA crosses the inner mitochondrial membrane are unknown. Here, we found that the inner mitochondrial membrane protein prohibitin 1 (PHB1) plays a critical role in mtDNA release by regulating permeability across the mitochondrial inner membrane.

Effect of Bufalin-PLGA Microspheres in the Alleviation of Neuropathic Pain the CCI Model.

The treatment of neuropathic pain (NPP) is considered challenging, while the search for alternative medication is striving. NPP pathology is related with the expression of both the purinergic 2X7 (P2X7) receptor and the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptor (TRPV1). Bufalin is a traditional Chinese medication derived from toad venom with pronounced antitumor, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Immune Regulation of Heme Oxygenase-1 in Allergic Airway Inflammation.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is not only a rate-limiting enzyme in heme metabolism but is also regarded as a protective protein with an immunoregulation role in asthmatic airway inflammation. HO-1 exerts an anti-inflammation role in different stages of airway inflammation via regulating various immune cells, such as dendritic cells, mast cells, basophils, T cells, and macrophages. In addition, the immunoregulation role of HO-1 may differ according to subcellular locations.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Extract Properties Incorporated Energy Analysis for Membrane Concentration Processes.

This work focuses on the energy analysis of the membrane concentration systems that process traditional Chinese medicine extracts with dynamic properties incorporated, particularly for reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD) processes. The evaluation of process energy consumption was achieved by integrating the empirical properties correlations of Brix and other characteristics properties of the feed (e.g.

Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions on cord blood total IgE in Chinese Han children.

Background: IL13, IL4, IL4RA, FCER1B and ADRB2 are susceptible genes of asthma and atopy. Our previous study has found gene-gene interactions on asthma between these genes in Chinese Han children. Whether the interactions begin in fetal stage, and whether these genes interact with prenatal environment to enhance cord blood IgE (CBIgE) levels and then cause subsequent allergic diseases have yet to be determined.

A pilot study to evaluate the role of circulation CD4 CCR6 CRTh2 cell in predicting risk of asthma in wheezing children.

Background: Wheezing is common in younger children and often related to viral infection. It is lack of reliable indicators for asthma prediction.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between circulation CD4CCR6CRTh2 memory Th2 cells and asthma diagnosis in wheezing children.

Utility of basophil activation test for predicting the outcome of wheezing in children: a pilot study.

Background: No reliable biological marker for the diagnosis of asthma in younger children is currently available. In this study, we analyzed the differences in basophil activation test (BAT) results among children with recurrent wheezing episodes who had different asthma outcomes.

Results: A prospective cohort study was conducted in children aged under 5 years who visited our pediatric respiratory clinic and ward for wheezing.

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Signaling Enhances Ovalbumin-Induced Neutrophilic Airway Inflammation by Promoting Th17 Cell Polarization in Murine Noneosinophilic Asthma Model.

T helper 17 (Th17) is regarded as key immune cell in the pathogenesis of noneosinophilic asthma (NEA) due to the recruitment of neutrophils into the airways. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an important signaling molecule that plays a critical role in immune regulation. This study focused on mTOR signaling pathway in the regulation of Th17-mediated neutrophilic airway inflammation.

Primary immunodeficiency disease: a retrospective study of 112 Chinese children in a single tertiary care center.

Background: Primary immunodeficiency disease (PID) is a disorder caused by an inherited flaw in the immune system that increases the susceptibility to infections.

Methods: In this study, 112 children with PID were diagnosed and classified based on the 2017 criteria presented by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIC) in a single tertiary care center from January 2013 to November 2018. We retrospectively studied the clinical features of those PID children and followed-up them as well.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids (TRACK) in preschool children with asthma: a prospective validation study.

Objective: The limited existing asthma control questionnaires that are available for children 5 years of age or younger in China mostly assess only the impairment domain of asthma control. Here, the English version of the Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids (TRACK) was translated into Chinese and validated for its application in asthma control in preschool children.

Design: Prospective validation study.

Pilot study of expanded carrier screening for 11 recessive diseases in China: results from 10,476 ethnically diverse couples.

Expanded carrier screening (ECS) has been demonstrated to increase the detection rate of carriers compared with traditional tests. The aim of this study was to assess the potential value of ECS for clinical application in Southern China, a region with high prevalence of thalassemia and with diverse ethnic groups, and to provide a reference for future implementations in areas with similar population characteristics. A total of 10,476 prenatal/preconception couples from 34 self-reported ethnic groups were simultaneously tested and analyzed anonymously for 11 Mendelian disorders using targeted next-generation sequencing.

Association of asthma diagnosis with leptin and adiponectin: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

There is some evidence which shows that higher levels of serum leptin and lower levels of serum adiponectin are associated with the diagnosis of asthma. This meta-analysis evaluated the association of serum leptin and adiponectin levels with the diagnosis of asthma. We searched the MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE and CINAHL Plus databases up to July 2015.

Heme oxygenase-1 inhibits basophil maturation and activation but promotes its apoptosis in T helper type 2-mediated allergic airway inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been studied extensively in many disease models including asthma. Many cell types are anti-inflammatory targets of HO-1, such as dendritic cells and regulatory T cells. In contrast to previous reports that HO-1 had limited effects on basophils, which participate in T helper type 2 immune responses and antigen-induced allergic airway inflammation, we demonstrated in this study, for the first time, that the up-regulation of HO-1 significantly suppressed the maturation of mouse basophils, decreased the expression of CD40, CD80, MHC-II and activation marker CD200R on basophils, blocked DQ-ovalbumin uptake and promoted basophil apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo, leading to the inhibition of T helper type 2 polarization.

Basophil-associated OX40 ligand participates in the initiation of Th2 responses during airway inflammation.

Asthma is characterized by increased airway submucosal infiltration of T helper (Th) cells and myeloid cells that co-conspire to sustain a chronic inflammation. While recent studies have demonstrated that the myeloid basophils promote Th2 cells in response to various types of allergens, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we found for the first time that in a mouse model of allergic asthma basophils highly expressed OX40 ligand (OX40L) after activation.

Heme oxygenase-1 ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute murine colitis by regulating Th17/Treg cell balance.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is a group of autoimmune diseases characterized by nonspecific inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Recent investigations suggest that activation of Th17 cells and/or deficiency of regulatory T cells (Treg) is involved in the pathogenesis of IBD. Heme oxygenase (HO)-1 is a protein with a wide range of anti-inflammatory and immune regulatory function, which exerts significantly protective roles in various T cell-mediated diseases.

Basophils as a primary inducer of the T helper type 2 immunity in ovalbumin-induced allergic airway inflammation.

Antigen-induced allergic airway inflammation is mediated by T helper type 2 (Th2) cells and their cytokines, but the mechanism that initiates the Th2 immunity is not fully understood. Recent studies show that basophils play important roles in initiating Th2 immunity in some inflammatory models. Here we explored the role of basophils in ovalbumin (OVA) -induced airway allergic inflammation in BALB/c mice.

All-trans retinoic acid attenuates airway inflammation by inhibiting Th2 and Th17 response in experimental allergic asthma.

Background: Airway inflammation is mainly mediated by T helper 2 cells (Th2) that characteristically produce interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Epidemiological studies have revealed an inverse association between the dietary intake of vitamin A and the occurrence of asthma. Serum vitamin A concentrations are significantly lower in asthmatic subjects than in healthy control subjects.

Synthesized OVA323-339MAP octamers mitigate OVA-induced airway inflammation by regulating Foxp3 T regulatory cells.

Background: Antigen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) has been widely practiced in treating allergic diseases such as asthma. However, this therapy may induce a series of allergic adverse events during treatment. Peptide immunotherapy (PIT) was explored to overcome these disadvantages.

Activation of OX40 augments Th17 cytokine expression and antigen-specific uveitis.

Uveitis is a major and common cause of visual disability. Recent studies have shown that Th17 cells are implicated in the pathogenesis of this serious intraocular disorder. Activated T cells express an inducible costimulatory molecule called OX40, and OX40 in turn promotes the activation and proliferation of these lymphocytes.