Minerva medica
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Asthma is a complex disorder characterized by expiratory airflow limitation, wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough, which can vary over time and in intensity. Being highly heterogeneous, asthma was characterized and classified in several asthma phenotypes and endotypes from 1947 until today. The present systematic review aims to summarize and describe evidence that was published in the last ten years in the field of asthma phenotyping and endotyping. ⋯ This systematic review overviews the principal findings available from high-quality literature in the last decade concerning asthma phenotypes and endotypes. Asthma has been described from different points of view, characterizing symptoms, microbiota composition, comorbidities, viral infections, and airway and/or systemic inflammatory status. The comprehension of precise mechanisms underlying asthma pathogenesis is thereby the basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies, likely essential to the development of precision medicine.
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Lung regeneration plays an important role in lung repair after injury. It is reliant upon proliferation of multiple cell types in the lung, including endothelium, epithelium, and fibroblasts, as well as remodeling of the extracellular matrix. ⋯ Much has been learned about the triggers and mechanisms regulating pulmonary regeneration. However, the role of thymocyte differentiation antigen-1 (Thy-1) in post-PNX lung growth remains incompletely characterized. Thy-1 is a phosphatidylinositol glycoprotein with a relative molecular weight of 25000~37000 Da, which is expressed in almost all types of fibroblasts and regulates many biological functions. It not only supports the structure of fibroblasts, but also can balance cell proliferation, migration and regulate the synthesis of immune inflammatory mediators.