A 73-year-old woman complaining of cough and dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. High-resolution computed tomography chest revealed patchy ground-glass attenuation in the upper lung field. The ...patient suffered an asthma attack and was diagnosed with allergic pneumonitis; prednisolone was administered for treatment. Bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis was suspected, as she had a gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and a budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) at home. An immunoblotting analysis with the patient's serum demonstrated IgG-binding fractions to the gray parrot's feathers only; no binding was noted with the budgerigar antigens. The patient was conclusively diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis related to exposure to a gray parrot.
Sphingosine kinase phosphorylates sphingosine to generate sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) following stimulation of the five plasma membrane G-protein-coupled receptors. The objective of this study is ...to clarify the role of S1P and its receptors (S1PRs), especially S1PR3 in airway epithelial cells.
The effects of S1P on asthma-related genes expression were examined with the human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B and Calu-3 using a transcriptome analysis and siRNA of S1PRs. To clarify the role of CCL20 in the airway inflammation, BALB/c mice were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) and subsequently challenged with an OVA-containing aerosol to induce asthma with or without intraperitoneal administration of anti-CCL20. Finally, the anti-inflammatory effect of VPC 23019, S1PR1/3 antagonist, in the OVA-induced asthma was examined.
S1P induced the expression of some asthma-related genes, such as ADRB2, PTGER4, and CCL20, in the bronchial epithelial cells. The knock-down of SIPR3 suppressed the expression of S1P-inducing CCL20. Anti-CCL20 antibody significantly attenuated the eosinophil numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (P<0.01). Upon OVA challenge, VPC23019 exhibited substantially attenuated eosinophilic inflammation.
S1P/S1PR3 pathways have a role in release of proinflammatory cytokines from bronchial epithelial cells. Our results suggest that S1P/S1PR3 may be a possible candidate for the treatment of bronchial asthma.
Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive phospholipid that acts as a signal transducer by binding to S1P receptors (S1PR) 1 to 5. The S1P/S1PRs pathway has been associated with remodeling and ...allergic inflammation in asthma, but the expression pattern of S1PR and its effects on non-immune cells have not been completely clarified. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of the signaling of S1P and S1PRs expressed in airway epithelial cells (ECs) to asthma responses in mice.
Bronchial asthma was experimentally induced in BALB/c mice by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization followed by an OVA inhalation challenge. The effects of S1PR antagonists on the development of asthma were analyzed 24 h after the OVA challenge.
Immunohistological analysis revealed S1PR1-3 expression on mouse airway ECs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that S1P greatly stimulated the induction of CCL3 and TIMP2 mRNA in human airway ECs, i.e., BEAS-2B cells, in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with the S1PR2 antagonist JTE013 inhibited the CCL3 gene expression in BEAS-2B cells. Immunohistological analysis also showed that the expression level of CCL3 was attenuated by JTE013 in asthmatic mice. Furthermore, JTE013 as well as anti-CCL3 antibody attenuated allergic responses. Intratracheal administration of JTE013 also attenuated eosinophilic reactions in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. S1P induced transcription factor NFκB activation, while JTE013 greatly reduced the NFκB activation.
JTE013 attenuated allergic airway reactions by regulating CCL3 production from bronchial ECs. The intratracheal administration of JTE013 may be a promising therapeutic strategy for bronchial asthma.
...the patient fulfilled 8 of 10 components in the criteria for allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) by the Japan ABPM Research Programme.1 Therefore, we confirmed the diagnosis of ABPA, and ...subsequently, prednisolone with tapering was administered. ABPM is a disease caused by an allergic reaction to fungi in the lower respiratory tract, especially those caused by Aspergillus spp are called ABPA.2 There are several clinical diagnostic criteria for ABPM, including Rosenberg-Patterson criteria proposed in 1977,3 the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM) criteria in 20134 and the Japan ABPM Research Programme criteria in 2020.1 The Rosenberg-Patterson criteria have a high specificity of 98.4% but a low sensitivity of 49.2%, while the ISHAM criteria have a sensitivity of 82.7% and a specificity of 86.8%. ...the sensitivity and specificity of the Japan ABPM Research Programme criteria are 94.4% and 90.0%, respectively, indicating that ABPM can be diagnosed with high accuracy.1 ABPM often shows mucoid impaction, and its differential diagnosis includes endobronchial lesions or foreign bodies, bronchial atresia and bronchiectasis due to various causes.5 HAM is defined as mucus plugs with higher densities than paravertebral muscles on high-resolution CT, and the CT density value of 70 Hounsfield units is an adequate cut-off value.6 It has been assumed that iron, manganese and calcium produced by fungi in the mucus may cause higher densities.6 The sensitivity and specificity of HAM for ABPA are reported as 39.7% and 100%, respectively.7 HAM is an important finding in the early diagnosis of ABPM.
A 73-year-old woman complaining of cough and dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. High-resolution computed tomography chest revealed patchy ground-glass attenuation in the upper lung field. The ...patient suffered an asthma attack and was diagnosed with allergic pneumonitis; prednisolone was administered for treatment. Bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis was suspected, as she had a gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and a budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) at home. An immunoblotting analysis with the patient's serum demonstrated IgG-binding fractions to the gray parrot's feathers only; no binding was noted with the budgerigar antigens. The patient was conclusively diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis related to exposure to a gray parrot.
A 73-year-old woman complaining of cough and dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. High-resolution computed tomography chest revealed patchy ground-glass attenuation in the upper lung field. The ...patient suffered an asthma attack and was diagnosed with allergic pneumonitis; prednisolone was administered for treatment. Bird-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis was suspected, as she had a gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and a budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) at home. An immunoblotting analysis with the patient's serum demonstrated IgG-binding fractions to the gray parrot's feathers only; no binding was noted with the budgerigar antigens. The patient was conclusively diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis related to exposure to a gray parrot.
A seventy‒year‒old man complaining of left arm weakness and gait disturbance was diagnosed with multiple tumors and severe edema in the brain as well as right lung mass lesion, suggesting brain ...metastases. He started whole brain radiation therapy but had to discontinue it since his neurological symptoms were worsened including paralysis, aphasia, and coma. These symptoms made it difficult to perform tumor biopsy for cancer diagnosis as well as oncogene mutations. Liquid biopsy, which examines EGFR gene mutations in plasma sample, revealed EGFR L858R point mutation. Treatment with osimertinib improved his symptoms, resulting in discharge to home. Even a patient severely ill with metastatic brain tumors can benefit from the molecular‒targeted therapy using liquid biopsy to diagnose EGFR‒mutated lung cancer, suggesting an important differential diagnosis in such patients.
Background. Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare lung disease, regarded as a low-grade malignant soft tissue tumor. The diagnosis is often difficult preoperatively. Case. A ...39-year-old man was found to have an abnormal shadow on chest radiography at a medical checkup, and was referred to our hospital. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a well-circumscribed 4-cm mass lesion which was enhanced with contrast, and obliterating left B8. Inflammatory reaction was slightly high, but tumor markers were negative. Bronchoscopy showed a red tumor in left B8. The specimen biopsied by transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) revealed the proliferation of spindle-shaped cells and infiltration of inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes. The tumor was positive for α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and was diagnosed as IMT. Conclusion. TBNA and immunostaining for ALK might be useful in a case of a solitary nodule in the lung of young people, considering the possibility of IMT.
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