Exposure to mycotoxins increases the allergic immune response in a murine asthma model

Models and approaches to understand the role of airway remodelling in disease

Airway remodelling is a collective term for changes in the amount or organisation of the cellular and molecular constituents of the airway wall. Remodelling occurs in and is associated with the pathophysiology of airways diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The remodelling that occurs in these diseases exhibits both shared and distinct features. Remodelling is generally considered to be deleterious to airway function but recent studies also indicate potential protective effects. However, the true impact of different aspects of the remodelling process on lung function, both negative and positive, is poorly understood. In addition, the genetic susceptibility and processes by which environmental insults drive the cell and molecular events which result in airway remodelling and the potential for therapeutic reversibility are also incompletely understood. The last 10-15 years has seen the development of animal models of airway remodelling which have been refined and modified as new factors such as exacerbations and early life influences have been recognised as being of importance. In addition, invertebrate models have been put forward and complex in vitro culture systems and lung slice preparations developed. In parallel, imaging technology has developed to an extent where it is feasible using a combination of techniques to image structural components, cells and proteins in the airway wall as well as to analyse biological processes, cell and receptor activation non-invasively over time. The integration of data from in vivo and in vitro models together with use of imaging techniques in man and animals should allow validation of models, further our understanding of the pathophysiology of airway remodelling and potentially improve predictive accuracy for the translation of novel therapeutic agents into the clinic.

A rat model of exercise-induced asthma: a nonspecific response to a specific immunogen

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is common; however, key aspects of its pathogenesis are still unclear. We investigated the feasibility of adapting an established animal model of asthma to investigate the earliest stages of EIB. The hypothesis was that a single exposure to a normally innocuous, and brief, exercise challenge could trigger EIB symptoms in rats previously sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) but otherwise unchallenged. Brown-Norway rats were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection of OVA at 0 and 2 wk. At week 3, animals were exposed to either aerosolized OVA (SS) or exercise (EXS). A trained, blinded, clinical observer graded EIB by respiratory sounds. Plasma and lung cytokine levels were analyzed. No control rats with or without exercise (EX, CON) showed evidence of EIB. Eighty percent of the SS group demonstrated abnormal breath sounds upon exposure to aerosolized OVA. Approximately 30% of EXS rats sensitized to OVA but exposed only to exercise had abnormal breath sounds. Lung tissue levels of TNF-α, IL-1α, growth-related oncogene/keratinocyte/chemoattractant, and IFN-γ were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the SS group, relative to all other groups. Changes in most of these cytokines were not notable in the EXS rats, suggesting a different mechanism of EIB. Remarkably, IFN-γ, but not the other cytokines measured, was significantly elevated following brief exercise in both sensitized and unsensitized rats. Exercise led to detectable breathing sound abnormalities in sensitized rats, but less severe than those observed following classical OVA challenge. Precisely how this immune crossover occurs is not known, but this model may be useful in elucidating essential mechanisms of EIB.

The sick building syndrome as a part of the autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a term coined for a set of clinically recognizable symptoms and ailments without a clear cause reported by occupants of a building. In the 1990s the term "functional somatic syndromes" was applied to several syndromes, including SBS, multiple chemical sensitivity, repetition stress injury, the side effects of silicone breast implants, the Gulf War syndrome (GWS), chronic fatigue syndrome, the irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Recently, Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin suggested that four conditions--siliconosis, macrophagic myofascitis, the GWS, and post-vaccination phenomena--which share clinical and pathogenic resemblances, may be included under a common syndrome entitled the "autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants". Comparison of the clinical manifestations, symptoms, and signs of the four conditions described by Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin with those described for SBS shows that nine out of ten main symptoms are present in all 5 conditions. Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin further propose several major and minor criteria, which, although requiring further validation, may aid in the diagnosis of this newly defined syndrome. We propose here that SBS may also be included as a part of "Shoenfeld's syndrome".