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Influences of large sets of environmental exposures on immune responses in healthy adult men. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13367. [PMID: 26306804 PMCID: PMC4549790 DOI: 10.1038/srep13367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental factors have long been known to influence immune responses. In particular, clinical studies about the association between migration and increased risk of atopy/asthma have provided important information on the role of migration associated large sets of environmental exposures in the development of allergic diseases. However, investigations about environmental effects on immune responses are mostly limited in candidate environmental exposures, such as air pollution. The influences of large sets of environmental exposures on immune responses are still largely unknown. A simulated 520-d Mars mission provided an opportunity to investigate this topic. Six healthy males lived in a closed habitat simulating a spacecraft for 520 days. When they exited their “spacecraft” after the mission, the scenario was similar to that of migration, involving exposure to a new set of environmental pollutants and allergens. We measured multiple immune parameters with blood samples at chosen time points after the mission. At the early adaptation stage, highly enhanced cytokine responses were observed upon ex vivo antigen stimulations. For cell population frequencies, we found the subjects displayed increased neutrophils. These results may presumably represent the immune changes occurred in healthy humans when migrating, indicating that large sets of environmental exposures may trigger aberrant immune activity.
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Jacobsen EA, Lee NA, Lee JJ. Re-defining the unique roles for eosinophils in allergic respiratory inflammation. Clin Exp Allergy 2015; 44:1119-36. [PMID: 24961290 DOI: 10.1111/cea.12358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The role of eosinophils in the progression and resolution of allergic respiratory inflammation is poorly defined despite the commonality of their presence and in some cases their use as a biomarker for disease severity and/or symptom control. However, this ambiguity belies the wealth of insights that have recently been gained through the use of eosinophil-deficient/attenuated strains of mice that have demonstrated novel immunoregulatory and remodelling/repair functions for these cells in the lung following allergen provocation. Specifically, studies of eosinophil-deficient mice suggest that eosinophils contribute to events occurring in the lungs following allergen provocation at several key moments: (i) the initiating phase of events leading to Th2-polarized pulmonary inflammation, (ii) the suppression Th1/Th17 pathways in lung-draining lymph nodes, (iii) the recruitment of effector Th2 T cells to the lung, and finally, (iv) mechanisms of inflammatory resolution that re-establish pulmonary homoeostasis. These suggested functions have recently been confirmed and expanded upon using allergen provocation of an inducible eosinophil-deficient strain of mice (iPHIL) that demonstrated an eosinophil-dependent mechanism(s) leading to Th2 dominated immune responses in the presence of eosinophils in contrast to neutrophilic as well as mixed Th1/Th17/Th2 variant phenotypes in the absence of eosinophils. These findings highlighted that eosinophils are not exclusively downstream mediators controlled by T cells, dendritic cells (DC) and/or innate lymphocytic cells (ILC2). Instead, eosinophils appear to be more aptly described as significant contributors in complex interrelated pathways that lead to pulmonary inflammation and subsequently promote resolution and the re-establishment of homoeostatic baseline. In this review, we summarize and put into the context the evolving hypotheses that are now expanding our understanding of the roles eosinophils likely have in the lung following allergen provocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- E A Jacobsen
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
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Jacobsen EA, LeSuer WE, Willetts L, Zellner KR, Mazzolini K, Antonios N, Beck B, Protheroe C, Ochkur SI, Colbert D, Lacy P, Moqbel R, Appleton J, Lee NA, Lee JJ. Eosinophil activities modulate the immune/inflammatory character of allergic respiratory responses in mice. Allergy 2014; 69:315-27. [PMID: 24266710 DOI: 10.1111/all.12321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The importance and specific role(s) of eosinophils in modulating the immune/inflammatory phenotype of allergic pulmonary disease remain to be defined. Established animal models assessing the role(s) of eosinophils as contributors and/or causative agents of disease have relied on congenitally deficient mice where the developmental consequences of eosinophil depletion are unknown. METHODS We developed a novel conditional eosinophil-deficient strain of mice (iPHIL) through a gene knock-in strategy inserting the human diphtheria toxin (DT) receptor (DTR) into the endogenous eosinophil peroxidase genomic locus. RESULTS Expression of DTR rendered resistant mouse eosinophil progenitors sensitive to DT without affecting any other cell types. The presence of eosinophils was shown to be unnecessary during the sensitization phase of either ovalbumin (OVA) or house dust mite (HDM) acute asthma models. However, eosinophil ablation during airway challenge led to a predominantly neutrophilic phenotype (>15% neutrophils) accompanied by allergen-induced histopathologies and airway hyper-responsiveness in response to methacholine indistinguishable from eosinophilic wild-type mice. Moreover, the iPHIL neutrophilic airway phenotype was shown to be a steroid-resistant allergic respiratory variant that was reversible upon the restoration of peripheral eosinophils. CONCLUSIONS Eosinophil contributions to allergic immune/inflammatory responses appear to be limited to the airway challenge and not to the sensitization phase of allergen provocation models. The reversible steroid-resistant character of the iPHIL neutrophilic airway variant suggests underappreciated mechanisms by which eosinophils shape the character of allergic respiratory responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. A. Jacobsen
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - W. E. LeSuer
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - L. Willetts
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
- Pulmonary Research Group; Department of Medicine; University of Alberta; Edmonton AB, Canada USA
| | - K. R. Zellner
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - K. Mazzolini
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - N. Antonios
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - B. Beck
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - C. Protheroe
- Divisions of Hematology/Oncology; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - S. I. Ochkur
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - D. Colbert
- Divisions of Hematology/Oncology; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - P. Lacy
- Pulmonary Research Group; Department of Medicine; University of Alberta; Edmonton AB, Canada USA
| | - R. Moqbel
- Division of Allergy and Immunology; Department of Immunology; University of Manitoba; Winnipeg MB, Canada USA
| | - J. Appleton
- Baker Institute for Animal Health; College of Veterinary Medicine; Cornell University; Ithaca NY USA
| | - N. A. Lee
- Divisions of Hematology/Oncology; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
| | - J. J. Lee
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Mayo Clinic Arizona; Scottsdale AZ, USA USA
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Kauffmann F, Demenais F. Gene-environment interactions in asthma and allergic diseases: challenges and perspectives. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2013. [PMID: 23195523 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.10.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The concept of gene-environment (GxE) interactions has dramatically evolved in the last century and has now become a central theme in studies that assess the causes of human disease. Despite the numerous efforts to discover genes associated in asthma and allergy through various approaches, including the recent genome-wide association studies, investigation of GxE interactions has been mainly limited to candidate genes, candidate environmental exposures, or both. This review discusses the various strategies from hypothesis-driven strategies to the full agnostic search of GxE interactions with an illustration from recently published articles. Challenges raised by each piece of the puzzle (ie, phenotype, environment, gene, and analysis of GxE interaction) are put forward, and tentative solutions are proposed. New perspectives to integrate various types of data generated by new sequencing technologies and to progress toward a systems biology approach of disease are outlined. The future of a molecular network-based approach of disease to which GxE interactions are related requires space for innovative and multidisciplinary research. Assembling the various parts of a puzzle in a complex system could well occur in a way that might not necessarily follow the rules of logic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francine Kauffmann
- INSERM, CESP Centre for research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018, Respiratory and Environmental Epidemiology Team, Villejuif, France
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Melén
- Institute of Environmental Medicine and Centre for Allergy Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,
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Aschard H, Lutz S, Maus B, Duell EJ, Fingerlin TE, Chatterjee N, Kraft P, Van Steen K. Challenges and opportunities in genome-wide environmental interaction (GWEI) studies. Hum Genet 2012; 131:1591-613. [PMID: 22760307 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-012-1192-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2012] [Accepted: 06/11/2012] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The interest in performing gene-environment interaction studies has seen a significant increase with the increase of advanced molecular genetics techniques. Practically, it became possible to investigate the role of environmental factors in disease risk and hence to investigate their role as genetic effect modifiers. The understanding that genetics is important in the uptake and metabolism of toxic substances is an example of how genetic profiles can modify important environmental risk factors to disease. Several rationales exist to set up gene-environment interaction studies and the technical challenges related to these studies-when the number of environmental or genetic risk factors is relatively small-has been described before. In the post-genomic era, it is now possible to study thousands of genes and their interaction with the environment. This brings along a whole range of new challenges and opportunities. Despite a continuing effort in developing efficient methods and optimal bioinformatics infrastructures to deal with the available wealth of data, the challenge remains how to best present and analyze genome-wide environmental interaction (GWEI) studies involving multiple genetic and environmental factors. Since GWEIs are performed at the intersection of statistical genetics, bioinformatics and epidemiology, usually similar problems need to be dealt with as for genome-wide association gene-gene interaction studies. However, additional complexities need to be considered which are typical for large-scale epidemiological studies, but are also related to "joining" two heterogeneous types of data in explaining complex disease trait variation or for prediction purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugues Aschard
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
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Martin LJ, Gupta J, Jyothula SSSK, Butsch Kovacic M, Biagini Myers JM, Patterson TL, Ericksen MB, He H, Gibson AM, Baye TM, Amirisetty S, Tsoras AM, Sha Y, Eissa NT, Hershey GKK. Functional variant in the autophagy-related 5 gene promotor is associated with childhood asthma. PLoS One 2012; 7:e33454. [PMID: 22536318 PMCID: PMC3335039 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2011] [Accepted: 02/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE Autophagy is a cellular process directed at eliminating or recycling cellular proteins. Recently, the autophagy pathway has been implicated in immune dysfunction, the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders, and response to viral infection. Associations between two genes in the autophagy pathway, ATG5 and ATG7, with childhood asthma were investigated. METHODS Using genetic and experimental approaches, we examined the association of 13 HapMap-derived tagging SNPs in ATG5 and ATG7 with childhood asthma in 312 asthmatic and 246 non-allergic control children. We confirmed our findings by using independent cohorts and imputation analysis. Finally, we evaluated the functional relevance of a disease associated SNP. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We demonstrated that ATG5 single nucleotide polymorphisms rs12201458 and rs510432 were associated with asthma (p = 0.00085 and 0.0025, respectively). In three independent cohorts, additional variants in ATG5 in the same LD block were associated with asthma (p<0.05). We found that rs510432 was functionally relevant and conferred significantly increased promotor activity. Furthermore, Atg5 expression was increased in nasal epithelium of acute asthmatics compared to stable asthmatics and non-asthmatic controls. CONCLUSION Genetic variants in ATG5, including a functional promotor variant, are associated with childhood asthma. These results provide novel evidence for a role for ATG5 in childhood asthma.
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MESH Headings
- Adolescent
- Asthma/genetics
- Asthma/metabolism
- Asthma/pathology
- Autophagy-Related Protein 5
- Autophagy-Related Protein 7
- Case-Control Studies
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Female
- Gene Frequency
- Genes, Reporter
- Genetic Association Studies
- HEK293 Cells
- Haplotypes
- Humans
- Linkage Disequilibrium
- Luciferases, Firefly/biosynthesis
- Luciferases, Firefly/genetics
- Luciferases, Renilla/biosynthesis
- Luciferases, Renilla/genetics
- Male
- Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics
- Microtubule-Associated Proteins/metabolism
- Nasal Mucosa/metabolism
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
- Transcription, Genetic
- Ubiquitin-Activating Enzymes/genetics
- Ubiquitin-Activating Enzymes/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J. Martin
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jayanta Gupta
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Soma S. S. K. Jyothula
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Melinda Butsch Kovacic
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jocelyn M. Biagini Myers
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Tia L. Patterson
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Mark B. Ericksen
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Hua He
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Aaron M. Gibson
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Tesfaye M. Baye
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Sushil Amirisetty
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Anna M. Tsoras
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Youbao Sha
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - N. Tony Eissa
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Gurjit K. Khurana Hershey
- Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
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Carnes BA, Riesch R, Schlupp I. The delayed impact of parental age on offspring mortality in mice. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2011; 67:351-7. [PMID: 21835807 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glr116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The certitude of death makes reproduction the foundation upon which all life-history strategies are based. Plasticity in the reproductive biology of organisms is an essential adaptive response to the capricious and hazardous environments of earth. In this article, we use data from a breeding colony for laboratory mice to examine the mortality risks of offspring born at the outer boundaries of their Dam's reproductive plasticity. Our results suggest that the mortality/survival characteristics of offspring are affected by both litter parity and offspring gender. Females born to young Dams have consistently longer life spans than females born to older Dams. Conversely, males are either not affected by parental age or have longer life spans when born to older Dams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce A Carnes
- Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
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Ober C, Vercelli D. Gene-environment interactions in human disease: nuisance or opportunity? Trends Genet 2011; 27:107-15. [PMID: 21216485 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2010.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2010] [Revised: 12/07/2010] [Accepted: 12/10/2010] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Many environmental risk factors for common, complex human diseases have been revealed by epidemiologic studies, but how genotypes at specific loci modulate individual responses to environmental risk factors is largely unknown. Gene-environment interactions will be missed in genome-wide association studies and could account for some of the 'missing heritability' for these diseases. In this review, we focus on asthma as a model disease for studying gene-environment interactions because of relatively large numbers of candidate gene-environment interactions with asthma risk in the literature. Identifying these interactions using genome-wide approaches poses formidable methodological problems, and elucidating molecular mechanisms for these interactions has been challenging. We suggest that studying gene-environment interactions in animal models, although more tractable, might not be sufficient to shed light on the genetic architecture of human diseases. Lastly, we propose avenues for future studies to find gene-environment interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carole Ober
- Department of Human Genetics, 920 E. 58th Street, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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De Vooght V, Vanoirbeek JAJ, Luyts K, Haenen S, Nemery B, Hoet PHM. Choice of mouse strain influences the outcome in a mouse model of chemical-induced asthma. PLoS One 2010; 5:e12581. [PMID: 20830207 PMCID: PMC2935354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2010] [Accepted: 08/11/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The development of occupational asthma is the result of interactions between environmental factors and individual susceptibility. We assessed how our model of chemical-induced asthma is influenced by using different mouse strains. Methodology/Principal Findings On days 1 and 8, male mice of 7 different strains (BALB/c, BP/2, A/J, C57Bl/6, DBA/2, CBA and AKR) were dermally treated with toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) (0.3%) or vehicle (acetone/olive oil, AOO, 2∶3) on each ear (20 µl). On day 15, they received an oropharyngeal instillation of TDI (0.01%) or AOO (1∶4). Airway reactivity to methacholine, total and differential cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and total serum IgE and IgG2a levels were measured. Lymphocyte subpopulations in auricular lymph nodes and in vitro release of cytokines by ConA stimulated lymphocytes were assessed. In TDI-sensitized and challenged mice, airway hyper-reactivity was only observed in BALB/c, BP/2, A/J and AKR mice; airway inflammation was most pronounced in BALB/c mice; numbers of T-helper (CD4+), T-activated (CD4+CD25+), T-cytotoxic (CD8+) and B- lymphocytes (CD19+) were increased in the auricular lymph nodes of BALB/c, BP/2, A/J and CBA mice; elevated concentrations of IL-4, IL-10, IL-13 and IFN-γ were detected in supernatant of lymphocytes from BALB/c, BP/2, A/J, C57Bl/6 and CBA mice cultured with concanavaline A, along with an increase in total serum IgE. Conclusion The used mouse strain has considerable and variable impacts on different aspects of the asthma phenotype. The human phenotypical characteristics of chemically-induced occupational asthma were best reproduced in Th2-biased mice and in particular in BALB/c mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa De Vooght
- Research Unit Lung Toxicology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Katrien Luyts
- Research Unit Lung Toxicology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Steven Haenen
- Research Unit Lung Toxicology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Benoit Nemery
- Research Unit Lung Toxicology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Peter H. M. Hoet
- Research Unit Lung Toxicology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Current world literature. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2010; 16:77-82. [PMID: 19996898 DOI: 10.1097/mcp.0b013e328334fe23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Vercelli D. Gene-environment interactions: the road less traveled by in asthma genetics. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009; 123:26-7. [PMID: 19130923 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2008.11.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2008] [Accepted: 11/26/2008] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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