High-Throughput Drug Screening Identifies a Potent Wnt Inhibitor that Promotes Airway Basal Stem Cell Homeostasis

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MUC4 involvement in ErbB2/ErbB3 phosphorylation and signaling in response to airway cell mechanical injury

The receptor tyrosine kinases ErbB2 and ErbB3 are phosphorylated in response to injury of the airway epithelium. Since we have shown that the membrane mucin MUC4 can act as a ligand/modulator for ErbB2, affecting its localization in polarized epithelial cells and its phosphorylation, we questioned whether Muc4 was involved, along with ErbB2 and ErbB3, in the damage response of airway epithelia. To test this hypothesis, we first examined the localization of MUC4 in human airway samples. Both immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence showed a co‐localization of MUC4 and ErbB2 at the airway luminal surface. Sequential immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting from airway cells demonstrated that the MUC4 and ErbB2 are present as a complex in airway epithelial cells. To assess the participation of MUC4 in the damage response, cultures of NCI‐H292 or airway cells were scratch‐wounded, then analyzed for association of phospho‐ErbB2 and ‐ErbB3 with MUC4 by sequential immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. Wounded cultures exhibited increased phosphorylation of both receptors in complex with MUC4. Scratch wounding also increased activation of the downstream pathway through Akt, as predicted from our previous studies on Muc4 effects on ErbB2 and ErbB3. The participation of MUC4 in the phosphorylation response was also indicated by siRNA repression of MUC4 expression, which resulted in diminution of the phosphorylation of ErbB2 and ErbB3. These studies provide a new model for the airway epithelial damage response, in which the MUC4–ErbB2 complex is a key element in the sensor mechanism and phosphorylation of the receptors. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 112–122, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells sense succinate to stimulate myoepithelial cell contraction

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Short hairpin RNAs against eotaxin or interleukin‐5 decrease airway eosinophilia and hyper‐responsiveness in a murine model of asthma

Background

Eosinophilia plays the major role in the pathogenesis of asthma and correlates with the up‐regulation of eotaxin, which, together with interleukin (IL)‐5, is important for differentiation, chemo‐attraction, degranulation, and survival of eosinophils in local tissue. In a previous study, we found that administration of lentivirus‐delivered short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to suppress the expression of IL‐5 inhibited airway inflammation. The present study aimed to investigate the role of eotaxin shRNA and the synergistic effect of eotaxin and IL‐5 shRNAs on airway inflammation in an ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced murine model of asthma.

Methods

Lentivirus‐delivered shRNAs were used to suppress the expression of eotaxin and/or IL‐5 in local tissue in an OVA‐induced murine asthma model.

Results

Intra‐tracheal administration of lentivirus containing eotaxin shRNA expressing cassette (eoSEC3.3) efficiently moderated the characteristics of asthma, including airway hyper‐responsiveness, cellular infiltration of lung tissues, and eotaxin and IL‐5 levels in bronchio‐alveolar lavage fluid. Administration of lentiviruses expressing IL‐5 or eotaxin shRNAs (IL5SEC4 + eoSEC3.3) also moderated the symptoms of asthma in a mouse model.

Conclusions

Local delivery of lentiviruses expressing IL‐5 and eotaxin shRNAs provides a potential tool in moderating airway inflammation and also has the potential for developing clinical therapy based on the application of shRNAs of chemokines and cytokines involved in T helper 2 cell inflammation and eosinophilia. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

分泌型磷脂酶PLA2G5的生物学功能及其抑制剂研究进展

分泌型磷脂酶PLA2G5属于磷脂酶A2超家族的一员,在免疫细胞和非免疫细胞中均有表达.研究表明,PLA2G5参与生物学事件的发生发展,在特定的病理条件下具有诱导作用.本文简要阐述了PLA2G5的来源、结构特征、生物学功能和在疾病中的作用,以及现有或潜在的PLA2G5抑制剂,以期探索基于PLA2G5的治疗新靶标.     

克氏鱼(Clarkeosteus)的新发现

文中记述了采自云南盘溪地区一真节甲鱼类化石,根据材料特征认为属于克氏鱼属—新种,即一打得克氏鱼(Clarkeosteus yidadeinsis sp. nov.).     

咽喉部高频喷射通气调节各参数对狗肺通气效率的影响

用相关和回归处理方法,研究了8条正常狗咽喉部高频喷射通气时,调节驱动压、呼吸比和频率对喷气量、吸入气氧浓度、动脉血气及气道内压的作用。结果显示,驱动压和呼吸此对各观察指标几乎有同等重要的作用,频率的影响很小,喷气量与吸入气氧浓度、动脉血气、气道内压间存在显著的正相关关系。说明调节参数的意义主要在于改变了喷气量。     

Seasonal dynamics of the zoobenthic communities in the mesohaline zone of the Loire estuary (France)

The application of correspondence factorial analysis to four types of sediment in the upper reaches of the Loire estuary enabled the significance of environmental factors in the spatial distribution, abundance and seasonal dynamics of the biotic communities to be determined. In coarse sand, the communities are stable but species are few in number and population densities are low. In muddy sediments (from muddy sand to fluid mud) population densities are high but undergo seasonal fluctuations due to changes in the hydrological regime (especially the dissolved oxygen regime). This is true for the composition of the biotic communities. The oligohaline phase, in which the fluvial element is predominant, is characterized by abundance maxima due to freshwater species. The mesohaline phase, in which the marine element is predominant, exerts a restrictive action on population densities; certain species are supplanted by others, their development being governed by the quality of the environment.     

表皮生长因子对培养的气道上皮细胞抗臭氧损伤的保护作用

本研究观察到臭氧（Ｏ３）对体外培养经３Ｈ－ＵｄＲ标记的免气道上皮细胞有明显细胞毒性作用,且损伤程度与Ｏ３作用时间呈正相关。Ｏ３暴露组细胞内丙二醛（ＭＤＡ）产生增多（Ｐ＜０．０１）,提示Ｏ３损伤细胞的机制与胞膜脂质过氧化有关。表皮生长因子（ＥＧＦ）可明显降低Ｏ３所致的３Ｈ释放率（Ｐ＜０．０１）、降低Ｏ３的细胞毒指数及细胞内ＭＤＡ含量（Ｐ＜０．０１）,证明ＥＧＦ对气道上皮细胞有保护作用。进一步还观察到浓度为５ｎｇ／ｍｌ的ＥＯＦ可以取消Ｏ３所引起的细胞内还原型谷胱甘肽（ＧＳＨ）含量降低（Ｐ＜０．０１）,并增加细胞内谷胱甘肽总含量（Ｐ＜０．０５）,但不能改变Ｏ３所致的氧化型谷胱甘肽（ＧＳＳＧ）含量的增加（Ｐ＞０．０５）,对ＧＳＨ／ＧＳＳＧ比值也无明显提高,这些都提示ＥＧＦ的细胞保护机理可能与其促进细胞内谷胱甘肽合成有关,而对ＧＳＳＧ转化为ＧＳＨ的还原过程影响不明显。