Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid

BACKGROUND: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway is linked to the development of asthma. Anti-malarial drug artesunate is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, the principal active component of a medicinal plant Artemisia annua, and has been shown to inhibit PI3K/Akt activity. We hypothesized that artesunate may attenuate allergic asthma via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Female BALB/c mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) developed airway inflammation.

Allium cepa (Family Liliaceae) is a reputed Indian medicinal herb that is prescribed as an effective remedy for several ailments in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate its efficacy against various events responsible for Type I allergic reactions. A herbal fraction (ALC-02) from A. cepa (bulb) inhibited histamine release and attenuated intracellular calcium levels in Compound 48/80-induced rat peritoneal mast cells. It also prevented Compound 48/80-mediated systemic anaphylaxis while lowering histamine levels in plasma.

OBJECTIVE: Bromelain, a clinically used pineapple extract and natural product, has reported anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of bromelain treatment in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of allergic airway disease (AAD). METHODS: To establish AAD, mice were sensitized with intraperitoneal (i.p.) OVA/alum and challenged with daily OVA aerosols. Mice were treated i.p. with either saline, 2 or 6 mg/kg bromelain, twice daily for four consecutive days.

Surfactant protein D (SP-D), a member of the collectin superfamily, modulates pulmonary inflammatory responses and innate immunity. Disruption of the SP-D gene in mice induces peribronchiolar inflammation, accumulation of large, foamy macrophages, increased bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) phospholipid, and pulmonary emphysema. We hypothesized that absence of SP-D aggravates hyperoxia-induced injury. To test this, SP-D-deficient (SP-D-/-) and wild-type (SP-D+/+) mice were exposed to 80% or 21% oxygen. Paradoxically, during 14 days of hyperoxia, SP-D-/- mice had 100% survival vs.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized by prolonged and excessive inflammatory responses in the lung and increased activation of NF-kappaB. Parthenolide is a sesquiterpene lactone derived from the plant feverfew, which has been used in folk medicine for anti-inflammatory activity. Several studies suggest that this compound inhibits the NF-kappaB pathway, but the exact site is controversial. We hypothesized that parthenolide might ameliorate the excessive inflammatory response in CF models by inhibiting activation of NF-kappaB.

BACKGROUND: The effect of ageing on several pathologic features of allergic asthma (pulmonary inflammation, eosinophilia, mucus hypersecretion), and their relationship with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is not well characterized. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate lung inflammation, mucus metaplasia and AHR in relationship with age in murine models of allergic asthma comparing young and older mice. METHODS: Young (6 weeks) and older (6, 12, 18 months) BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA).

Mice sensitized to OVA and subjected to acute OVA aerosol exposures develop allergic airway disease (AAD). However, chronic continuous Ag exposure results in resolution of AAD and the development of local inhalational tolerance (LIT). Because we have previously observed the persistence of B cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and hilar lymph nodes (HLN) at the resolution stage of this model, we investigated the role of B cells in the modulation of AAD.

Reports indicate contradictory outcomes for anti-inflammatory functions of the alpha-tocopherol isoform of vitamin E in clinical studies of asthma and atherosclerosis. These seemingly disparate clinical results are consistent with novel unrecognized properties of isoforms of vitamin E reported in this study. We demonstrate that the isoform d-gamma-tocopherol elevates inflammation in experimental asthma. Moreover, d-gamma-tocopherol, at as little as 10% the concentration of d-alpha-tocopherol, ablates the anti-inflammatory benefit of the d-alpha-tocopherol isoform.

BACKGROUND: Chronic allergic asthma is the result of a T-helper type 2 (Th2)-biased immune status. Current asthma therapies control symptoms in some patients, but a long-lasting therapy has not been established. Anti-Asthma Simplified Herbal Medicine Intervention (ASHMI™), a Chinese herbal formula, improved symptoms and lung function, and reduced Th2 responses in a controlled trial of patients with persistent moderate to severe asthma.

Leukotriene A(4) hydrolase (LTA(4)H) is a proinflammatory enzyme that generates the inflammatory mediator leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)). LTA(4)H also possesses aminopeptidase activity with unknown substrate and physiological importance; we identified the neutrophil chemoattractant proline-glycine-proline (PGP) as this physiological substrate. PGP is a biomarker for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is implicated in neutrophil persistence in the lung. In acute neutrophil-driven inflammation, PGP was degraded by LTA(4)H, which facilitated the resolution of inflammation.