Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dan Zhao, Dong Li, Xueliang Cheng, Zheng Zou, Xuesi Chen, Chaoliang He
Summary: In this study, cationic nanogels were synthesized through ionic cross-linking and showed potential as a mucolytic agent for the treatment of asthma and other muco-obstructive diseases. The nanogels effectively prevented the formation of large aggregates of mucin and exhibited antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wei Li, Lu Xue, Changsi Peng, Ping Zhao, Yongbo Peng, Weiwei Chen, Wenyi Wang, Jinhua Shen
Summary: PP121 exerts dual anti-contractile and anti-inflammatory effects in asthma treatment by blocking specific ion channels and downregulating inflammatory factors, mucins, and the MAPK/Akt signaling pathway in asthmatic mice, suggesting it as a promising therapeutic compound for asthma therapy.
MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Yao Lu, Yutao Zhou, Yingying Lin, Wusun Li, Shousheng Tian, Xianghui Hao, Huiyuan Guo
Summary: The study found that oral administration of donkey milk powder can improve asthma symptoms, alleviate airway injury and fibrosis, reduce mucin accumulation, goblet cell hyperplasia, and airway inflammation.
JOURNAL OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sohi Kang, Hyun-Yong Kim, A. Yeong Lee, Hyo Seon Kim, Jun Hong Park, Byeong Cheol Moon, Hyeon Hwa Nam, Sung-Wook Chae, Bokyung Jung, Changjong Moon, In Sik Shin, Joong Sun Kim, Yun-Soo Seo
Summary: In this study, the effects of Camellia sinensis extract on ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma were evaluated. The results showed that the extract had anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, and could suppress the progression of asthma.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yawei Wang, Binlin Tang, Lei Long, Peng Luo, Wei Xiang, Xueru Li, Huilan Wang, Qingzhi Jiang, Xu Tan, Shenglin Luo, Huijuan Li, Ziwen Wang, Zelin Chen, Yu Leng, Zhongyong Jiang, Yang Wang, Le Ma, Rui Wang, Chunyu Zeng, Zujuan Liu, Yu Wang, Hongming Miao, Chunmeng Shi
Summary: Specific enhancement of ATMs oxidative phosphorylation improves chronic inflammation and obesity-related disorders. The near-infrared fluorophore IR-61 might be an anti-inflammatory agent useful for the treatment of obesity-related diseases by targeting the mitochondria of ATMs.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nina Hoglund, Petteri Nieminen, Anne-Mari Mustonen, Reijo Kakela, Sylvain Tollis, Ninna Koho, Minna Holopainen, Hanna Ruhanen, Anna Mykkanen
Summary: This study investigates how the respiratory fatty acid (FA) profile reflects airway inflammatory status. The results show that the FA composition differs in samples with different diagnoses, but it is insufficient to predict the health status of uncategorized samples. Specifically, in severe EA horses, the proportion of 16:0 decreases and the proportion of 20:5n-3 increases, while all sample types of asthmatic horses have elevated proportions of 20:3n-6. The study suggests a potential role for extracellular vesicles (EVs) as vehicles for lipid mediators in asthma pathogenesis and EV lipid manifestations can offer translational targets for studying asthma pathophysiology and treatment options.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Kak-Ming Ling, Stephen Michael Stick, Anthony Kicic
Summary: For individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF), hyper-concentrated mucus provides an ideal environment for bacterial colonization and chronic infection. Antibiotic treatment initially limits bacterial pathogens but leads to resistance and long-term consequences. Bacteriophage therapy is a potential alternative, but its effectiveness and dynamics with mucus in respiratory infections are poorly understood. This review examines CF-related lung diseases, the impact of CF mucus, and the therapeutic potential of phage, as well as the interaction between phage and mucus in CF.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Su-Yeon Oh, Yun-Ho Kim, Min-Kyung Kang, Eun-Jung Lee, Dong-Yeon Kim, Hyeongjoo Oh, Soo-Il Kim, Woojin Na, Il-Jun Kang, Young-Hee Kang
Summary: This study found that aesculetin can alleviate airway thickening and mucus hypersecretion induced by inhalation of uPM(10) by inhibiting TLR4 and EGFR induced by oxidative stress.
Article
Immunology
Issa Beegun, Duco S. Koenis, Ghassan Alusi, Jesmond Dalli
Summary: The study found that MaR concentrations were decreased in the plasma of CRSwNP patients, while increased in nasal secretions. The concentrations of these mediators were positively correlated with quality-of-life scores in the patients. MaR1 was shown to regulate the activation of peripheral blood phagocytes in CRSwNP patients, potentially limiting the local inflammatory response.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Malarvizhi Gurusamy, Saeed Nasseri, Dileep Reddy Rampa, Huiying Feng, Dongwon Lee, Anton Pekcec, Henri Doods, Dongmei Wu
Summary: This study found that the use of BIBF1000, a triple-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, can alleviate airway remodeling and inflammatory responses caused by chronic airway diseases by reducing inflammatory cell infiltration, releasing inflammatory mediators, and inhibiting the activation of ERK and AKT signaling pathways.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Yan Zhou, Yali Qiu, Wuping Bao, Lei Han, Yishu Xue, Yingying Zhang, Xue Tian, Qiang Fu, Chengjian Lv, Dongning Yin, Min Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the influence of vitamin D on patients with T2-high and T2-low asthma. The results show that asthma patients have decreased vitamin D levels, and vitamin D deficiency can exacerbate asthma symptoms. Vitamin D levels are associated with asthma severity, especially in T2-low asthma. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms of vitamin D on different types of asthma.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hyeon Hwa Nam, Ji Hye Lee, Seung Mok Ryu, Sueun Lee, Sungyu Yang, Pureum Noh, Byung Cheol Moon, Joong Sun Kim, Yun-Soo Seo
Summary: The study demonstrates that Gekko gecko extract (GGE) can alleviate asthma-induced inflammation by regulating the activation and differentiation of Th2 cells.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Noemie Daniel, Andrew T. Gewirtz, Benoit Chassaing
Summary: The study shows that the food additives carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and polysorbate 80 (P80) can negatively impact intestinal microbiota, leading to chronic low-grade inflammation and metabolic dysregulations. However, daily administration of the probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila (A.muciniphila) can protect against the detrimental effects of these additives on both the microbiota and host. This study highlights the potential of using A.muciniphila as a probiotic to maintain intestinal and metabolic health.
Article
Cell Biology
Rosy Ghanem, Philippe Roquefort, Sophie Ramel, Veronique Laurent, Tanguy Haute, Tony Le Gall, Thierry Aubry, Tristan Montier
Summary: The mucus in CF patients' airways is a yield stress fluid with unique rheological properties. Rheological analyses can provide biophysical markers for disease management. Treatment with rhDNAse appears to lower the apparent yield stress of CF sputum, which could be a predictive biomarker for prognosis and aid in the development of new mucolytic agents.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yusheng Wang, Saksham Sharma, Fabien Maldonado, Xiaoguang Dong
Summary: This research presents a method for integrating arrays of artificial cilia on 3D curved surfaces and introduces an airway ciliary stent for transporting excessive mucus. The method allows efficient fluid pumping in tubular structures by encoding bioinspired non-reciprocal motion and metachronal waves. A lubricant hydrogel coating layer, inspired by the periciliary layer in airway cilia, is also introduced to enhance viscous fluid transportation. It is demonstrated that the novel ciliary airway stent can transport viscous porcine mucus faster than the respiratory cilia in a healthy human lung. The methods of designing, integrating, and controlling artificial cilia on 3D curved surfaces enable the unprecedented function of removing excessive mucus beyond traditional airway stents for treating various lung diseases in a minimally invasive manner.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
David A. Dorward, Clark D. Russell, In Hwa Um, Mustafa Elshani, Stuart D. Armstrong, Rebekah Penrice-Randal, Tracey Millar, Chris E. B. Lerpiniere, Giulia Tagliavini, Catherine S. Hartley, Nadine P. Randle, Naomi N. Gachanja, Philippe M. D. Potey, Xiaofeng Dong, Alison M. Anderson, Victoria L. Campbell, Alasdair J. Duguid, Wael Al Qsous, Ralph BouHaidar, J. Kenneth Baillie, Kevin Dhaliwal, William A. Wallace, Christopher O. C. Bellamy, Sandrine Prost, Colin Smith, Julian A. Hiscox, David J. Harrison, Christopher D. Lucas
Summary: In fatal COVID-19 cases, abnormal immune responses were found primarily in the lung and reticuloendothelial system, which were not clearly associated with the virus. Tissue-specific immunopathology in COVID-19 implicates a significant role of immune-mediated, virus-independent mechanisms in severe disease.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Amanda Croasdell Lucchini, Naomi N. Gachanja, Adriano G. Rossi, David A. Dorward, Christopher D. Lucas
Summary: Respiratory diseases are characterized by epithelial injury, airway inflammation, defective tissue repair, and airway remodeling, with the lung having the capacity to repair and replace damaged cells in response to injury. Airway epithelial cells play a key role in maintaining lung homeostasis and host defense, orchestrating the resolution of inflammation and initiating tissue repair. Understanding the mechanisms of intercellular communication, including growth factors, extracellular vesicles, and cytokines, will identify potential cells, mediators, and interactions for therapeutic targeting.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Clark D. Russell, Asta Valanciute, Naomi N. Gachanja, Jillian Stephen, Rebekah Penrice-Randal, Stuart D. Armstrong, Sara Clohisey, Bo Wang, Wael Al Qsous, William A. Wallace, Gabriel C. Oniscu, Jo Stevens, David J. Harrison, Kevin Dhaliwal, Julian A. Hiscox, J. Kenneth Baillie, Ahsan R. Akram, David A. Dorward, Christopher D. Lucas
Summary: Proteomic analysis of lung and splenic tissue from fatal COVID-19 patients revealed insights into the immunopathology of the disease, including antiviral responses, inflammation and disease stages, macrophage involvement, pulmonary thrombosis, splenic B-cell activation, and lymphocyte depletion.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Milly J. McAllister, Kathryn Kirkwood, Shaun C. Chuah, Emily J. Thompson, Jennifer A. Cartwright, Clark D. Russell, David A. Dorward, Christopher D. Lucas, Gwo-tzer Ho
Summary: The study reveals differences in the expression patterns of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in different types of inflammatory bowel disease (such as UC and CD) patients, while no differences were found in the staining of entry molecules in the colon and ileum of patients who died of COVID-19 infection.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Isabel Boden, Miguel O. Bernabeu, Baljean Dhillon, David A. Dorward, Ian MacCormick, Roly Megaw, Claire Tochel
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the association between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and poor COVID-19 prognosis. By searching seven databases and selecting eligible studies, it was found that there is a significant positive correlation between DR and poor outcomes of COVID-19. However, further research is needed to establish the predictive value of DR due to the variability between studies.
DIABETES RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael H. Raymond, Andrew J. Davidson, Yi Shen, Daniel R. Tudor, Christopher D. Lucas, Sho Morioka, Justin S. A. Perry, Julia Krapivkina, David Perrais, Linus J. Schumacher, Robert E. Campbell, Will Wood, Kodi S. Ravichandran
Summary: By utilizing the CharON reporter, it was found that in the embryonic development of Drosophila, emerging apoptotic cells are cleared by macrophages, but some macrophages may carry a high corpse burden, affecting their ability to clear wound debris.
Article
Immunology
Christopher D. Lucas, Christopher B. Medina, Finnius A. Bruton, David A. Dorward, Michael H. Raymond, Turan Tufan, J. Iker Etchegaray, Brady Barron, Magdalena E. M. Oremek, Sanja Arandjelovic, Emily Farber, Suna Onngut-Gumuscu, Eugene Ke, Moira K. B. Whyte, Adriano G. Rossi, Kodi S. Ravichandran
Summary: Panx1, activated by caspases in dying cells, drives efficient epithelial regeneration after tissue injury by regulating injury-induced epithelial proliferation. The release of factors like ATP from dying epithelial cells regulates macrophage phenotype after injury, inducing a reparative response in tissue macrophages that includes promoting injury-induced epithelial proliferation. Panx1-mediated communication between epithelial cells and macrophages is a key step in promoting epithelial regeneration after injury, conserved between mouse lung and zebrafish tailfin.
SCIENCE IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Brian J. McHugh, Jillian Stephen, Calum T. Robb, Sarah Fox, Tiina Kipari, Jennifer A. Cartwright, Christopher Haslett, Rodger Duffin, Christopher D. Lucas, Adriano G. Rossi
Summary: Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor drugs can induce neutrophil apoptosis and enhance inflammation resolution. In this study, CDKi showed significant effects on macrophage pro-inflammatory mediator production and viability. Targeting CDK9 inhibited an inflammatory phenotype in human MDMs, suggesting its importance in therapeutically targeting pro-inflammatory macrophage functions during chronic inflammation.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Finnius A. Bruton, Aryan Kaveh, Katherine M. Ross-Stewart, Gianfranco Matrone, Magdalena E. M. Oremek, Emmanouil G. Solomonidis, Carl S. Tucker, John J. Mullins, Christopher D. Lucas, Mairi Brittan, Jonathan M. Taylor, Adriano G. Rossi, Martin A. Denvir
Summary: Macrophages play a crucial role in zebrafish cardiac regeneration by activating the epicardium and inducing cardiomyocyte proliferation. They are specifically recruited to the epicardial-myocardial niche, triggering epicardial expansion and upregulating vegfaa expression. This, in turn, enhances endocardial notch signaling and promotes cardiac growth.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Asta Valanciute, Layla Mathieson, Richard A. O'Connor, Jamie Scott, Marc Vendrell, David A. Dorward, Ahsan R. Akram, Kevin Dhaliwal
Summary: This study demonstrates that methylene blue photodynamic therapy can decrease the proliferation of lung cancer cells and patient derived non-small cell lung cancer organoids through immunogenic cell death and granzyme B mediated cytolysis.
Article
Cell Biology
Ya-Ting Wang, Alissa J. Trzeciak, Waleska Saitz Rojas, Pedro Saavedra, Yan-Ting Chen, Rachel Chirayil, Jon Iker Etchegaray, Christopher D. Lucas, Daniel J. Puleston, Kayvan R. Keshari, Justin S. A. Perry
Summary: Research reveals that macrophages exhibit enhanced efferocytosis of apoptotic cells under prolonged physiological hypoxia, characterized by increased internalization and accelerated degradation. This is achieved through the noncanonical pentose phosphate pathway, which promotes NADPH production and ensures phagolysosomal maturation and redox homeostasis. This adaptation supports cell fitness and essential homeostatic functions.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
J. Iker Etchegaray, Shannon Kelley, Kristen Penberthy, Laura Karvelyte, Yosuke Nagasaka, Sofia Gasperino, Soumen Paul, Vikram Seshadri, Michael Raymond, Ana Royo Marco, Jonathan Pinney, Marta Stremska, Brady Barron, Christopher Lucas, Nishikant Wase, Yong Fan, Emil Unanue, Bijoy Kundu, Tal Burstyn-Cohen, Justin Perry, Jayakrishna Ambati, Kodi S. Ravichandran
Summary: Retinal pigment epithelial cells are a local source of insulin in the retina, which is stimulated by phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments and starvation and has the potential to influence retinal physiology and disease.