Objective To explore the effects of prolonged inhalation of Aspergillus fumigatus ( Af)spores on epithelial cell injury and expression of epidermal growth factor receptor( EGFR) in airways of asthmatic rats. Methods 64 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 8 groups, ie. chronic asthma group ( group A) , chronic asthma plus Af spores inhalation for 1 week ( group B) , 3 weeks ( group C) and 5 weeks ( group D) , chronic asthma plus saline inhalation for 5 weeks ( group E) , OVA-sensitized and salinechallenged group ( group F) , and OVA-sensitized and saline-challenged plus Af spores inhalation for 5 weeks ( group G) ( each n =8) . The airway resistance ( Raw) and change of Raw after acetylcholine provocation were detected using a computerized system. The concentrations of epidermal growth factor ( EGF) andtransforming growth factor alpha( TGF-α) in BALF were measured by ELISA. The extents of epithelial cell injury and goblet cell hyperplasia were evaluated on hematoxylin and eosin-stained( HE) and periodic acidschiff ( PAS) stained lung sections. The expression of EGFR in airway epithelia was demonstrated byimmunohistochemistry, and the level of EGFR protein in the rat lung tissues was measured by western blot.Results The concentration of EGF( pg/mL) ( 51. 72 ±8. 54, 68. 12 ±7. 85, 86. 24 ±9. 12, respectively)and TGF-α( pg/mL) ( 55. 26 ±9. 30, 75. 58 ±11. 56, 96. 75 ±14. 66, respectively) , detached/ inner perimeter of epithelium( % ) ( 11. 25 ±3. 12, 26. 45 ±5. 56, 28. 50 ±7. 50, respectively) , the ratio of goblet cell area to epithelial cell area ( % ) ( 16. 42 ±5. 24, 22. 64 ±6. 82, 36. 38 ±9. 21, respectively) , the integrated optical density ( IOD) of EGFR positive stain in airway epithelial cells ( 82 ±15,120 ±19, 165 ±21, respectively) , and the EGFR protein levels in lung tissues ( 0. 91 ±0. 26, 1. 61 ±0. 52, 2. 52 ±0. 78,respectively) in group B, C, and D were higher than those in group A, E, F and G( P lt; 0. 05 or P lt;0. 01) .The change rates of Raw( % ) ( 61. 91 ±5. 26, 84. 69 ±6. 38) in group C and D were higher than those in group A, E, F and G ( P lt; 0. 05 or P lt;0. 01) . The IOD of EGFR was positively correlated with detached/inner perimeter of epithelium( % ) and the ratio of goblet cell area to epithelial cell area( % ) ( r = 0. 692,P lt;0. 01; r = 0. 657, P lt; 0. 01, respectively) . Conclusion Prolonged inhalation of Aspergillus fumigatus spores can aggravate airway epithelial cell injury, up-regulate the expression of EGFR in airway epithelial cell and induce goblet cell hyperplasia, thus increase the airway responsiveness in rats with chronic asthma.
目的:探討妊娠合并哮喘的臨床表現及治療方法。方法:對32 例妊娠合并支氣管哮喘患者的臨床資料進行回顧性分析。結果:經過適當的治療,32例支氣管哮喘合并妊娠患者癥狀緩解,隨訪至產后1 個月,嬰兒和母親均正常。結論:支氣管哮喘合并妊娠時,妊娠早期可選用對胎兒無影響的藥物如頭孢菌素類抗生素、β2 受體激動劑、糖皮質激素(吸入布地奈德,強的松口服,短期甲強龍靜滴),妊娠中晚期還可選用茶堿類藥物及全身使用糖皮質激素等藥物。
Objective To explore the possible anti-inflammatory mechanism of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor（PPAR） gamma-agonists by investigating the effects of Rosiglitazone on the expression of phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6（p-STAT6） and the secretion of interleukin（IL）-4 in T-lymphocytes from patients with acute asthma.Methods Peripheral blood T-lymphocytes from 10 healthy volunteers（group A） and 10 patients with acute asthma were isolated，purificated and cultured.T-lymphocytes from the asthma patients were divided into a control group（group B） and a Rosiglitazone treated group（group C）.Rosiglitazone was added with a single dose of 10-4 mol/L at 0 hour of cultrue.After cultured for 48 hours，the concentration of IL-4 in supernatant of each groups were detected by ELISA.The express of p-STAT6 in the T-lymphocytes were determined by Western blot and immunohistochemical techniques.Results The levels of IL-4 were increased markedly in group B than those in group A and group C[（170.34±9.05）pg/mL vs（76.82±7.06）pg/mL and（123.59±8.70）pg/mL，both Plt;0.01]，and which in group C was significantly lower than group A（Plt;0.01）.The levels of p-STAT6 in T lymphocytes were increased markedly in group B than in group A and C[Western blot：（6.28±0.19 vs 3.07±0.18 and 4.12±0.16；immunohistochemistry：（36.58%±7.41）% vs（11.39±4.02）% and（23.92±5.8）%，all Plt;0.01），and which in group C were significantly higher than that in group B（both Plt;0.01）.There was a positive correlation between the level of p-STAT6 and IL-4（Plt;0.01）.Conclusion The levels of p-STAT6 and IL-4 in T-lymphocytes of patients with acute asthma were suppressed by Rosiglitazone in vitro.
This paper proposes a forced oscillation respiration resistance detector which has the characteristics of portable and friendly interface, with remote transmission function. STM32 is used to produce single frequency or complex frequency oscillation signal. In the experiments, the signal was magnified by the power amplifier to drive speaker to generate oscillates airflow into the subject's oral cavity. The analog to digital coverter of STM32 was used to measure the signals obtained by the pressure sensor and the flow sensor, and then the operation parameters were to be displayed on the TFT-LCD touch screen, and could also be transferred to the master computer. Simulated lung and volunteerism were used to verify the reliability of the detector. The test results showed that the system was reliable, and it achieved the significance in respiratory impedance detecting.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of allergic and non-allergic asthma in Chinese adult asthmatic patients. Methods Consecutive treatment-naive adult outpatients with asthma were retrospectively analyzed in West China Hospital, Sichuan University from October 2014 to June 2016. The patients were classified into a non-allergic asthma (NAAS) group and an allergic asthma (AAS) group by skin prick test or antigen-specific IgE test. The differences between allergic and non-allergic asthma were compared in respect of gender, age, asthma control test (ACT) score, lung function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) level, body mass index (BMI), disease severity,etc. Results A total of 131 patients were enrolled in which 72 cases (54.96%) were allergic asthmatics and 59 cases (45.04%) were non-allergic asthmatics. The level of FeNO was statistically different (t=–2.762,P=0.007) between the NAAS group and the AAS group [(51.1±32.6)ppbvs. (69.1±41.7)ppb]. Seventeen cases of the NAAS group and 48 cases of the AAS group were complicated with rhinitis with statistically significant difference (χ2 =19.396,P=0.000). Airway limitation reversibility test showed that there were 37 cases in AAS and 20 cases in NAAS with no airway obstruction (NAO), 26 cases in AAS and 22 cases in NAAS with reversible airflow obstruction (RAO), 9 cases in AAS and 17 cases in NAAS with irreversible airflow obstruction (IAO), respectively, with statistically significant difference between two groups (Z=–2.461,P=0.014). There were 20 cases (33.9%) in NAAS and 37 cases (51.4%) in AAS with mild intermittent or persistent asthma, 18 cases (30.5%) in NAAS and 19 cases (26.4%) in AAS with moderate persistent asthma, 21 cases (35.6%) in NAAS and 16 (22.2%) in AAS with severe persistent asthma, respectively, with statistically significant difference (Z=–2.115,P=–0.034). The age, ACT score, FEV1%pred, and BMI had no statistical difference between two groups (allP>0.05). Conclusion Compared with allergic asthma, non-allergic asthma has less rhinitis, lower FeNO levels and higher prevalence of irreversible airflow obstruction.
Objective To measure the serum level of adiponectin and explore its clinical implication in patients with asthma in acute exacerbation and remission phase. Methods 97 patients with asthma were recruited, including 50 patients with asthma in acute exacerbation and 47 patients in remission phase fromOctober 2010 to September 2011. 27 healthy nonsmoking volunteers of normal weight ( BMI range of 18.5-24. 9 kg/m2 ) were included as control. The concentrations of adiponectin and tumor necrosis factor alpha ( TNF-α) in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) . The lung function was tested in all subjects. The correlations between adiponectin, TNF-αand lung function were investigated. The data was analyzed using SPSS 19. 0 software. Variables were compared with one-way ANOVA. The correlations between variables were analyzed using Peason’s correlation coefficient or Spearman correlation coefficient.Results Serum adiponectin level was significantly lower in the patients with asthma in acute exacerbation [ ( 246 ±1. 21) ng/mL] than that in the healthy subjects [ ( 9. 64 ±4. 88)ng/mL] and the patients in remission phase [ ( 3. 79 ±0. 96) ng/mL] ( P lt; 0. 01) , while serum adiponectin level was also significantly lower in the patients in asthma remission phase than that in the healthy subjects ( P lt; 0. 01) . The serum adiponectin level in the patients with asthma in acute exacerbation or in asthma remission phase was negatively correlated with the serum TNF-α level ( P lt; 0. 01) , and was positively correlated with FEV1 /predicted value ( P lt; 0. 01) . Conclusions The serum adiponectin is reduced in asthma patients and may play a protective role in asthma.
Objective To explore the clinical features and diagnostic procedure of atypical asthma characteristic of chest pain.Methods The patients with unexplained chest pain were screened by lung function test and bronchial provocation test.The diagnosis of asthma was established by therapeutic test and exclusive procedure.The clinical manifestations were analyzed.Results In 56 cases of unexplained chest pain 20 cases were diagnosed as asthma.While all patients referred to clinic with chest pain as chief complaint，a majority of patients (11 cases，85%) showed obscure chest tightness，breath shortness and cough..Some cases reported the same trigger factors as asthma.Chest pain was relieved in all cases after regular antiasthma treatments.Conclusions Chest pain could be a specific presentation of asthma which may be misdiagnosed as other diseases.Bronchial provocation tests and antiasthma therapy should be considered to screen and diagnose this atypical asthma.