PTRF-IL33-ZBP1 signaling mediating macrophage necroptosis contributes to HDM-induced airway inflammation.

Polymerase 1 and transcript release factor (PTRF, encoding by Cavin-1) regulates interleukin 33 (IL-33) release, which is implicated in asthma development. Z-DNA binding protein 1 (ZBP1)-sensing Z-RNAs induces necroptosis which causes inflammatory diseases. House dust mite (HDM) is the major source of allergen in house dust and is strongly associated with the development of asthma.

Diagnostic Efficacy of T-SPOT.TB for Active Tuberculosis in Adult: A Retrospective Study.

Purpose: To explore the diagnostic efficacy and optimal diagnosis threshold of T-SPOT.TB for active tuberculosis in adults and to evaluate the influential factors for T-SPOT.TB results.

Inhaled Corticosteroids and Mycobacterial Infection in Patients with Chronic Airway Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) have been widely used in chronic airway diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and bronchiectasis. However, whether ICS use causes mycobacterial infection is uncertain. Some conclusions of published studies were inconsistent.

Effect of inhaled corticosteroids on microbiome and microbial correlations in asthma over a 9-month period.

The effect of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on the airway microbiome requires longitudinal research for corroboration. Asthma patients, not undergoing ICS treatment (baseline), were enrolled and prescribed ICS; all these patients were followed up with regular visits at 3 months (visit 1) and 9 months (visit 2). Induced sputum was collected, and fungal microbiota (mycobiome) and bacterial microbiota (bacteriome) were estimated using 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing.

The effect of short-chain fatty acids on M2 macrophages polarization in vitro and in vivo.

Alternatively activated macrophages (M2 polarization) play an important role in asthma. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) possessed immune-regulatory functions, but their effects on M2 polarization of alveolar macrophages and its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In our study, murine alveolar macrophage MH-S cell line and human monocyte-derived macrophages were used to polarize to M2 subset with interleukin-4 (IL-4) treatment.

Diffusing capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment: A meta-analysis.

To achieve a multidimensional evaluation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, the spirometry measures are supplemented by assessment of symptoms, risk of exacerbations, and CT imaging. However, the measurement of diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is not included in most common used models of COPD assessment. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the role of DLCO in COPD assessment.

USP4 is pathogenic in allergic airway inflammation by inhibiting regulatory T cell response.

Aims: Asthma is characterized by chronic inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). It is controllable, but not curable. Ubiquitin-specific peptidase 4 (USP4) has been verified as a regulator of regulatory T (Treg) cells and Th17 cells in vitro.

How does comorbid bronchiectasis affect asthmatic patients? A meta-analysis.

Objective: Asthma and bronchiectasis are known to be two distinct diseases with different etiology, pathophysiology, management, and prognosis. However, a high prevalence of bronchiectasis has been reported in patients with severe asthma. Thus, it is of great importance to identify the impact of bronchiectasis on asthmatic patients.

Indoor PM, tobacco smoking and chronic lung diseases: A narrative review.

The lung is one of the most important organs exposed to environmental agents. People spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, and risks to health may thus be greater from exposure to poor air quality indoors than outdoors. Multiple indoor pollutants have been linked to chronic respiratory diseases.

Oscillatory positive expiratory pressure treatment in lower respiratory tract infection.

Oscillatory positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) devices have been utilized as an adjunct therapy to conventional chest physiotherapy (CPT) to promote the clearance of respiratory secretions in individuals with impaired ability to cough, particularly in chronic diseases. However, few studies have focused on the effectiveness of OPEP in lower respiratory tract infection. In the present study, all patients with lower respiratory tract infections hospitalized in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Ruijin Hospital (Shanghai, China) between February 2016 and July 2017 were analyzed.

Intratracheal administration of adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells alleviates chronic asthma in a mouse model.

Background: Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ASCs) exerts immunomodulatory roles in asthma. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the effects and mechanisms of ASCs on chronic asthma using an ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized asthmatic mouse model.

The Imbalance of FOXP3/GATA3 in Regulatory T Cells from the Peripheral Blood of Asthmatic Patients.

Background: Treg cells play an important role in the pathogenic progress of asthma.

Objective: To address the alterations of Treg cells in asthma.

Methods: Proliferation-and function-associated markers of Treg cells along with the percentage of Treg cells producing some cytokine from asthmatics and healthy subjects were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Dephosphorylated Polymerase I and Transcript Release Factor Prevents Allergic Asthma Exacerbations by Limiting IL-33 Release.

Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). IL-33 is considered as one of the most critical molecules in asthma pathogenesis. IL-33 is stored in nucleus and passively released during necrosis.

Role of PIM2 in allergic asthma.

T cell‑associated inflammation, particularly type 2 inflammation, has an important role in asthma pathogenesis, which is suppressed by regulatory T cells (Tregs). Proviral integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 2 (PIM2), a member off the serine/threonine kinase family, promotes the growth and survival of T cells and influences the function of Treg cells. However, whether PIM2 affects asthma pathogenesis remains unclear.

Inhaled corticosteroids improve lung function, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway inflammation but not symptom control in patients with mild intermittent asthma: A meta-analysis.

It remains controversial whether inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) should be used in patients with intermittent asthma. The present study aimed to assess the effect of ICS compared with placebo or other therapies in patients with intermittent asthma. Medline, Embase and CNKI databases were searched up to June 2016 and a meta-analysis was conducted.

USP21 prevents the generation of T-helper-1-like Treg cells.

FOXP3 Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a key role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis and tolerance. Disruption of Foxp3 expression results in the generation of instable Treg cells and acquisition of effector T-cell-like function. Here we report that the E3 deubiquitinase USP21 prevents the depletion of FOXP3 at the protein level and restricts the generation of T-helper-1-like Treg cells.

Critical roles of adenosine A2A receptor in regulating the balance of Treg/Th17 cells in allergic asthma.

Introduction: Deficiency of Treg cells and hyperactivity of Th17 cells together are involved in the immunological pathogenesis of asthma. The adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) plays a critical role in the increased Foxp3 expression of Treg cells and the decreased Th17 generation.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate A2AR expression in peripheral blood and its regulatory effect on balance of Treg/Th17 cells in asthma.

USP17-mediated deubiquitination and stabilization of HDAC2 in cigarette smoke extract-induced inflammation.

Histone deacetylase HDAC2 regulates genes transcription via removing the acetyl group from histones. Glucocorticoids, the most potent anti-inflammatory treatment available for inflammatory diseases, inhibit the expression of inflammatory genes by recruiting HDAC2 to activated genes. In the lungs of patients who smoke and have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, glucocorticoids are not effective enough to suppress airway inflammation, which is so called "glucocorticoid resistance", due to decreased HDAC2 level caused by cigarette smoke.

The Deubiquitinase USP17 Regulates the Stability and Nuclear Function of IL-33.

IL-33 is a new member of the IL-1 family cytokines, which is expressed by different types of immune cells and non-immune cells. IL-33 is constitutively expressed in the nucleus, where it can act as a transcriptional regulator. So far, no direct target for nuclear IL-33 has been identified, and the regulation of IL-33 nuclear function remains largely unclear.

Clinical characteristics of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with comorbid bronchiectasis: a systemic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In the 2014 Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines, bronchiectasis was for the first time defined as a comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and this change has been retained in the 2015 update, which emphasizes the influence of bronchiectasis in the natural history of COPD. The present meta-analysis was aimed at summarizing the impact of bronchiectasis on patients with COPD.

Methods: Databases including Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched comprehensively to identify all relevant human clinical studies published until August 2014.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor regulates the balance of Th17/Treg in allergic asthma.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the expression pattern of histone deacetylase 9 in peripheral blood of patients with allergic asthma and its regulatory effect on the balance of Th17/Treg cells involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.

Methods: flap-Ub promoter-GFP-WRE vector was used to construct the Jurkat-HA-FOXP3 cell line. After histone deacetylase inhibitor-trichostatin A (TSA) treatment, FOXP3 and RORγt expression were detected by real-time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

[Characteristics of histone deacetylase 9 in peripheral blood of patients with bronchial asthma].

Objective: To investigate the expression pattern of histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) in peripheral blood of asthmatics and its effect on immune cells (Th2, Th17, Tregs) involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.

Methods: Forty-seven asthmatics from Ruijin Hospital were recruited and assigned to intermittent, mild and moderate-severe groups. Lung function test and Asthma Control Questionnaire were performed to evaluate asthma control and severity.