AI Article Synopsis
- Laminins are proteins that help anchor cells to basement membranes, and this study explored their role in epithelial cell shedding in asthma.
- Biopsies from bronchial tissue of allergic and non-allergic asthmatics showed that specific Laminin chains (lns-2, -5, and -10) had different thicknesses, with thicker ln-10 layers in both asthmatic groups and thicker lns-2 and -5 layers only in allergic patients.
- The unique expression of the ln gamma2-chain in epithelial cells of allergic asthmatics points to a link with epithelial damage and suggests that improper Laminin production may weaken cell anchorage in these patients.
Article Abstract
Background: Laminins are a group of proteins largely responsible for the anchorage of cells to basement membranes. We hypothesized that altered Laminin chain production in the bronchial mucosa might explain the phenomenon of epithelial cell shedding in asthma. The aim was to characterize the presence of Laminin chains in the SEBM and epithelium in allergic and non-allergic asthmatics.
Patients And Methods: Biopsies were taken from the bronchi of 11 patients with allergic and 9 patients with non-allergic asthma and from 7 controls and stained with antibodies against the Laminin (ln) chains alpha1-alpha5, beta1-beta2 and gamma1-gamma2.
Results: Lns-2,-5 and -10 were the main Laminins of SEBM. The layer of ln-10 was thicker in the two asthmatic groups while an increased thickness of lns-2 and -5 was only seen in allergic asthmatics. The ln gamma2-chain, which is only found in ln 5, was exclusively expressed in epithelial cells in association with epithelial injury and in the columnar epithelium of allergic asthmatics.
Conclusion: The uncoordinated production of chains of ln-5 in allergic asthma could have a bearing on the poor epithelial cell anchorage in these patients.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1261536 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1465-9921-6-110 | DOI Listing |
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