Bronchitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bronchitis, including details on pulmonary disorders, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevention.

Reduction of tumstatin in asthmatic airways contributes to angiogenesis, inflammation, and hyperresponsiveness.

Burgess JK, Boustany S, Moir LM, Weckmann M, Lau JY, Grafton K, Baraket M, Hansbro PM, Hansbro NG, Foster PS, Black JL, Oliver BG

Respiratory Research Group, Discipline of Pharmacology, Bosch Building, D05, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2006. janette@pharmacol.usyd.edu.au

RATIONALE: Angiogenesis is a prominent feature of remodeling in asthma. Many proangiogenic factors are up-regulated in asthma, but little is known about levels of endogenous antiangiogenic agents. Collagen IV is decreased in the airway basement membrane in asthma. It has six alpha chains, of which the noncollagenous domain-1 domains have endogenous antiangiogenic properties. OBJECTIVES: To study the expression of the noncollagenous domain-1 of the alpha3 chain of collagen IV, tumstatin, in the airways of subjects with and without asthma and to examine the potential for tumstatin to regulate angiogenesis and inflammation. METHODS: We used immunohistochemistry and dot blots to examine the expression of tumstatin in bronchial biopsies, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and serum. We then used an in vitro angiogenesis assay and a murine model of allergic airways disease to explore tumstatin's biological function. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The level of tumstatin is decreased 18-fold in the airways of patients with asthma but not in subjects without asthma, including those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, and bronchiectasis. In vitro, recombinant tumstatin inhibited primary pulmonary endothelial cell tube formation. In a mouse model of chronic allergic airways disease, tumstatin suppressed angiogenesis, airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory cell infiltration, and mucus secretion and decreased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and IL-13. CONCLUSIONS: The observation that tumstatin is decreased in asthmatic airways and inhibits airway hyperresponsiveness and angiogenesis demonstrates the potential use of antiangiogenic agents such as tumstatin as a therapeutic intervention in diseases that are characterized by aberrant angiogenesis and tissue remodeling, such as asthma.

Published 7 January 2010 in Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 181(2): 106-15.
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Articles on Bronchitis published 5 January 2010:

MMP-8 promotes polymorphonuclear cell migration through collagen barriers in obliterative bronchiolitis.   J Leukoc Biol, 87(1): 69-77.

Increased levels of MMP-8 (neutrophil collagenase) have been reported in OB, but the biological role of MMP-8 in OB is not known. MMP-8 is an interstitial collagenase highly expressed by polymorphonuclear leukocytes, which are prominent in early OB. Here, we show that MMP-8 promotes migration of PMNs through the collagen-rich matrix in a mouse heterotopic airway transplant model of OB. Overall, MMP-8(-/-) mice had significantly fewer PMNs in the airway lumen 2 and 14 days post-transplantation, ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 30 December 2009:

Respiratory syncytial virus, human bocavirus and rhinovirus bronchiolitis in infants.   Arch Dis Child, 95(1): 35-41.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of 14 viruses in infants with bronchiolitis and to study demographic and clinical differences in those with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human bocavirus (hBoV) and rhinovirus (RV) infection. METHODS: 182 infants aged <12 months hospitalised for bronchiolitis were enrolled. Infants underwent nasal washing for the detection of RSV, influenza virus A and B, human coronavirus OC43, 229E, NL-63, HUK1, adenovirus, RV, parainfluenza 1-3, human ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 22 December 2009:

Lung pathology in fatal novel human influenza A (H1N1) infection.   Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 181(1): 72-9.

RATIONALE: There are no reports of the systemic human pathology of the novel swine H1N1 influenza (S-OIV) infection. OBJECTIVES: The autopsy findings of 21 Brazilian patients with confirmed S-OIV infection are presented. These patients died in the winter of the southern hemisphere 2009 pandemic, with acute respiratory failure. METHODS: Lung tissue was submitted to virologic and bacteriologic analysis with real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and electron microscopy. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 16 December 2009:

ED antibiotic use for acute respiratory illnesses since pneumonia performance measure inception.   Am J Emerg Med, 28(1): 23-31.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to determine if emergency department (ED)-administered antibiotics for patients discharged home with nonpneumonia acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) have increased since national pneumonia performance measure implementation, including antibiotic administration within 4 hours of arrival. METHODS: Design: Time series analysis. Setting: Six university and 7 Veterans Administration EDs participating in the Improving Antibiotic Use for Acute Care Treatment (IMPAACT) ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 7 December 2009:

Lower respiratory tract infections.   Pediatr Clin North Am, 56(6): 1303-21.

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in young children worldwide. ALRIs are important indicators of the health disparities that persist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in developed countries. Bronchiolitis and pneumonia account for the majority of the ALRI burden. The epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of these diseases in Indigenous children are discussed. In comparison with non-Indigenous children in developing countries ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 3 December 2009:

Electron transfer as a potential cause of diacetyl toxicity in popcorn lung disease.   Rev Environ Contam Toxicol, 204: 133-48.

Diacetyl, a butter-flavoring component, has recently attracted scientific and media attention because it has been implicated as an agent that induces popcorn lung disease in exposed plant workers. This disease, officially referred to as bronchiolitis obliterans, entails exposure-induced compromise to the lung's epithelial barrier function. In this review, we present a novel molecular mechanism (electron transfer, ET) designed to explain how diacetyl and its imine derivatives might interact to ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 9 November 2009:

Influence of ambient air pollutant sources on clinical encounters for infant bronchiolitis.   Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 180(10): 995-1001.

RATIONALE: Data regarding the influence of ambient air pollution on infant bronchiolitis are few. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the impact of several air pollutants and their sources on infant bronchiolitis. METHODS: Infants in the Georgia Air Basin of British Columbia with an inpatient or outpatient clinical encounter for bronchiolitis (n = 11,675) were matched on day of birth to as many as 10 control subjects. Exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 mum or less (PM(2.5)), PM(10), ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Bronchitis published 7 October 2009:

The metabolic syndrome in patients with chronic bronchitis and COPD: frequency and associated consequences for systemic inflammation and physical inactivity.   Chest, 136(4): 1039-46.

BACKGROUND: The metabolic syndrome is a condition frequently found among individuals > 60 years of age. It predisposes affected individuals to systemic inflammation and physical inactivity. Systemic inflammation and physical inactivity are relevant extrapulmonary markers of morbidity and mortality in patients with COPD. Here, we studied the following: (1) the frequency of the coexisting metabolic syndrome in patients with chronic bronchitis (CB) and COPD of different severities; and (2) its ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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