American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2009
Multicenter StudyCD14 and toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms, country living, and asthma in adults.
It has been shown that country living protects against asthma, which may be explained by microbial exposures. ⋯ TLR2 and CD14 SNPs were associated with asthma and atopic asthma respectively. In addition, CD14, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 SNPs modified associations between country living and asthma.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2009
Multicenter StudyFragile histidine triad gene inactivation in lung cancer: the European Early Lung Cancer project.
Fragile histidine triad (FHIT) is a tumor suppressor gene involved in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. ⋯ Our results indicate that different molecular mechanisms interplay to inactivate FHIT expression and support the proposition that FHIT methylation in normal lung tissue could represent a prognostic marker for progressive disease.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2009
The prognostic value of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by progressive dyspnea, impaired gas exchange, and ultimate mortality. ⋯ We conclude that a threshold maximal oxygen uptake of 8.3 ml/kg/min during cardiopulmonary exercise testing at baseline adds prognostic information for patients with IPF.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2009
Temporal clustering of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Exacerbations are important events in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Preventing exacerbations is a key treatment goal. Observational data suggest that after a first exacerbation, patients may be at increased risk of a second exacerbation, but this has not been specifically studied. We hypothesized that exacerbations may cluster together in time, a finding that would have important implications for targeting preventative interventions and the analysis of clinical trial data. ⋯ Exacerbations are not random events but cluster together in time such that there is a high-risk period for recurrent exacerbation in the 8-week period after an initial excerbation.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2009
Alveolar type II epithelial cells present antigen to CD4(+) T cells and induce Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells.
Although the contribution of alveolar type II epithelial cells (AECIIs) in respiratory immunity has become increasingly appreciated, their precise function in the induction and regulation of T-cell reactivity to self-antigen remains poorly understood. ⋯ AECIIs are capable of priming naive CD4(+) T cells, demonstrating an active participation of these cells in respiratory immunity. Moreover, AECIIs display as yet unrecognized functions in balancing inflammatory and regulatory T-cell responses in the lung by connecting innate and adaptive immune mechanisms to establish peripheral T-cell tolerance to respiratory self-antigen.