Imbalanced Coagulation in the Airway of Type-2 High Asthma with Comorbid Obesity

TRP channels associated with macrophages as targets for the treatment of obese asthma

Globally, obesity and asthma pose significant health challenges, with obesity being a key factor influencing asthma. Despite this, effective treatments for obese asthma, a distinct phenotype, remain elusive. Since the discovery of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in 1969, their value as therapeutic targets for various diseases has been acknowledged. TRP channels, present in adipose tissue cells, influence fat cell heat production and the secretion of adipokines and cytokines, which are closely associated with asthma and obesity. This paper aims to investigate the mechanisms by which obesity exacerbates asthma-related inflammation and suggests that targeting TRP channels in adipose tissue could potentially suppress obese asthma and offer novel insights into its treatment.

Stomatognathic System Changes in Obese Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial chronic disease involving multiple organs, devices, and systems involving important changes in the stomatognathic system, such as in the orofacial muscles, temporomandibular joint, cheeks, nose, jaw, maxilla, oral cavity, lips, teeth, tongue, hard/soft palate, larynx, and pharynx. Patients with obesity indicated for bariatric surgery reportedly presented with abnormalities in the structures and function of the stomatognathic apparatus. This occurs through the accumulation of adipose tissue in the oral cavity and pharyngeal and laryngeal regions. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to elucidate the changes occurring in the stomatognathic system of patients with obesity after undergoing bariatric surgery. Method: Information was searched based on the equations developed with the descriptors obtained in DECS and MESH using the PRISMA methodology. Studies published between 2010 and October 2021 in databases including PubMed, ProQuest, Scielo, Dialnet, EBSCO, and Springer Link were considered. Results: Eighty articles met the inclusion criteria after evaluating the articles, thereby allowing for the determination of the morphophysiological correlation of the stomatognathic system with the population studied. At the morphological or structural level, changes were observed in the face, nose, cheeks, maxilla, jaw, lips, oral cavity, teeth, tongue, palate, temporomandibular joint, neck, muscles, head, shoulders, larynx, and pharynx. At the morphological level, the main changes occurred in, and the most information was obtained from, the labial structures, teeth, muscles, pharynx, and larynx. Physiological changes were in breathing, phonation, chewing, and swallowing, thereby revealing the imbalance in basic and vital functions. Conclusions: Analyzing the changes and structures of obese patients and candidates for bariatric surgery revealed that, in the preoperative period, the evidence is clear owing to the presence of a wide range of information. However, the information is more limited regarding the postoperative period; thus, further research focusing on characterization of the system postoperatively is warranted.

Airway fibrin formation cascade in allergic asthma exacerbation: implications for inflammation and remodeling

BACKGROUND

Airway remodeling in patients with asthma, which leads to a decline in pulmonary function, is likely the result of repeated exacerbations often provoked by aeroallergen exposures. Aeroallegen exposure triggers a stereotypic response orchestrated by growth factor cytokines and other protein mediators. This results in a late-phase allergic reaction characterized by vascular permeability, recruitment of activated leukocytes, and activation of structural cells of the airway. The spectrum of protein mediators and their functions are incompletely understood.

METHODS

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were obtained from 12 volunteers who exhibited robust eosinophilic recruitment following segmental bronchial provocation with allergen (SBP-Ag). We systematically identified and quantified proteins in BALF using high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) followed by pathway analysis and correlations with airway physiology.

RESULTS

Pairwise analysis of protein abundance in BALF pre- vs post-SBP-Ag revealed that 55 proteins were upregulated and 103 proteins were downregulated. We observed enrichment of groups of proteins mapping to hemostasis/fibrin clot, platelet activation, lipoprotein assembly, neutrophil degranulation proteins, and acute-phase inflammation-airway remodeling pathways. The abundances of F2 and Fibrinogen γ (FGG) correlated with eosinophil numbers, whereas SERPINA3 negatively correlated with change in FeNO. The coagulation proteins F2 and KNG negatively correlated with FN1 an index of airway remodeling. Interestingly, patients with lower FEV1 showed distinct allergen-induced patterns of 8 BALF proteins, including MUC1, alarmins (HSPB1), and actin polymerization factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Protein abundance of the fibrin formation cascade, platelet activation and remodeling are associated with late-phase leukocyte numbers and markers of remodeling. Patients with lower FEV1 have distinct dynamic responses to allergen.