Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0149514 (bronchitis)
 6,902 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The 5'-most gene, gene 1, of the genome of murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), is presumed to encode the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We have determined the complete sequence of this gene of the JHM strain by cDNA cloning and sequencing. The total length of this gene is 21,798 nucleotides long, which includes two overlapping, large open reading frames. The first open reading frame, ORF 1a, is 4488 amino acids long. The second open reading frame, ORF 1b, overlaps ORF 1a for 75 nucleotides, and is 2731 amino acids long. The overlapping region may fold into a pseudoknot RNA structure, similar to the corresponding region of the RNA of avian coronavirus, infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). The in vitro transcription and translation studies of this region indicated that these two ORFs were most likely translated into one polyprotein by a ribosomal frameshifting mechanism. Thus, the predicted molecular weight of the gene 1 product is more than 800,000 Da. The sequence of ORF 1b is very similar to the corresponding ORF of IBV. In contrast, the ORF 1a of these two viruses differ in size and have a high degree of divergence. The amino acid sequence analysis suggested that ORF 1a contains several functional domains, including two hydrophobic, membrane-anchoring domains, and three cysteine-rich domains. It also contains a picornaviral 3C-like protease domain and two papain-like protease domains. The presence of these protease domains suggests that the polyprotein is most likely processed into multiple protein products. In contrast, the ORF 1b contains polymerase, helicase, and zinc-finger motifs. These sequence studies suggested that the MHV gene 1 product is involved in RNA synthesis, and that this product is processed autoproteolytically after translation. This study completes the sequence of the MHV genome, which is 31 kb long, and constitutes the largest viral RNA known.
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PMID:The complete sequence (22 kilobases) of murine coronavirus gene 1 encoding the putative proteases and RNA polymerase. 184 89

Experiments on healthy male rats and those with chronic inflammation in the bronchi (CIB) were made to measure the content of testosterone, estradiol, zinc and copper in the blood and in the liquid of bronchoalveolar lavage (LBAL) as well as in the vitally important organs. Attempts were also made to equalize the content of trace elements by means of medicamentous correction in patients suffering from chronic obstructive bronchitis (COB). In CIB, there was a decrease of testosterone concentration in the blood and of zinc concentration in the plasma and formed elements of the blood, lungs, heart, liver, testes and adrenals (p less than 0.05). The zinc level in the LBAL was two times higher, that of copper was three times lower. After zinc sulfate was included into a complex of treatment measures for COB patients, zinc and copper concentrations in the plasma and formed elements of the blood returned to normal in addition to the improvement of the general health status. In the reference group of patients who received conventional symptomatic treatment, the given parameters did not noticeably change.
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PMID:[Trace elements in the pathogenesis and treatment of chronic bronchitis (a clinico-experimental study)]. 206 40

The study comprised 40 children of both sexes aged from 2 to 12 years, 22 suffering from bronchial asthma and 18 suffering from atopic dermatitis. Twenty healthy children of comparable age and sex to the patients were studied as controls. All the children were subjected to full history including dietetic questionnaire, thorough examination, and to estimation of serum IgE, serum ceruloplasmin, and zinc and copper levels in both serum and hairs. The mean concentrations of zinc in serum and hairs were respectively 70.3 +/- 13.2 micrograms/100 ml and 167.5 +/- 23.0 micrograms/gm in asthmatic cases and 65.9 +/- 11.7 micrograms/100 ml and 164.8 +/- 23.6 micrograms/gm in those with atopic dermatitis. These levels were significantly (p less than 0.001) decreased in comparison to the control values (88.4 +/- 11.0 micrograms/100 ml and 194.5 +/- 18.6 micrograms/gm). On the other hand, a significant (p less than 0.001) increase in serum and hairs copper was demonstrated in both allergic groups compared to the controls. Mean copper values were respectively 79.5 +/- 8.06 micrograms/100 ml and 18.7 +/- 1.9 micrograms/gm in the asthmatic cases and 81.4 +/- 8.4 micrograms/100 ml and 17.8 +/- 2.08 micrograms/gm in cases with atopic dermatitis. The control mean concentrations were 67.95 +/- 6.37 micrograms/100 ml and 14.5 +/- 2.53 micrograms/gm respectively. Significant (p less than 0.001) higher levels of serum ceruloplasmin were observed in the allergic patients compared to the controls and were correlated with the hypercupremia. The results were discussed and a good dietetic intake of high biological value protein and zinc supplement was recommended to these patients in order to correct their disturbances especially the hypozincemia which could lead to exaggeration of their allergic conditions. The field of trace elements metabolism has grown rapidly over the past few years, particularly after the development of novel techniques as the atomic absorption spectrophotometry which had allowed the reliable measurements of several trace elements in tissues and so had opened a new field for many researches (Henkin, 1976). Zinc and copper are involved in cell and tissue growth. Zinc plays an important role in DNA and protein synthesis and is intimately involved with copper as cofactors in several important enzyme systems. The effects of many pathological conditions as congestive heart failure, pneumonia, rheumatic heart diseases, bronchitis, recurrent infection, hemolytic anemia, psoriasis, and malnutrition on the levels of serum zinc, copper, and other trace elements have been of interest to investigators for a number of years (Sinha and Gabrieli, 1970; David et al., 1984).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Zinc and copper status in children with bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis. 213

Dietary factors may influence inflammatory and antioxidant activity, and hence the development of chronic respiratory symptoms. To examine this hypothesis, the authors analyzed data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). NHANES II was conducted on a sample representative of the civilian, noninstitutionalized US population, which included 9,074 white and black adults aged 30 years or older. Dietary factors were derived from serum levels and from a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. The authors examined the relations of these dietary factors to the presence of currently active respiratory symptoms. The relation of serum vitamin C, dietary vitamin C intake, dietary fish intake, the ratio of dietary sodium to dietary potassium, and the ratio of serum zinc to serum copper to the respiratory symptoms of bronchitis and wheezing was assessed. Initially, nutrient-specific logistic regression analysis was performed, controlling for age, race, sex, calories, and pack-years of cigarette smoking. When multiple nutrients and total caloric intake were considered for each respiratory symptom outcome, bronchitis was negatively associated with serum vitamin C and with the serum zinc:copper ratio and was positively associated with the sodium:potassium ratio. Wheezing was negatively associated with serum vitamin C, niacin, and the serum zinc:copper ratio. Interactions between nutrients and smoking status were not significant. These data suggest that several dietary constituents may influence the occurrence of respiratory symptoms in adults, independently of cigarette smoking.
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PMID:Dietary factors and their relation to respiratory symptoms. The Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 235 15

This study was conducted in Mexico among residents of an area near a recycling plant for zinc and other metallic dusts to find out if these substances produce various adverse health effects in the population that may come in contact with them. The plant is in a municipality close to Monterrey, which is Mexico's third most populous and second most industrialized city. A cross-sectional comparative design was used for the research, which took place from September to November 1994. By means of quota sampling, houses were selected in two areas--one exposed, by virtue of its proximity to the plant, and the other unexposed, which served as a control--until the desired sample size was reached (621 individuals, an average of five per household). In each dwelling, a trained psychology student administered a questionnaire to one of the older family members to gather data on the presence of acute and chronic illnesses, problems during pregnancy, and congenital illnesses among the household members. In the exposed population, 127 questionnaires were completed, providing information on 596 persons; in the unexposed population, data on 743 persons were gathered via 147 questionnaires. The sex and age distributions were similar in the two populations, and the length of residence in their respective area was slightly longer among unexposed individuals. The most frequently reported health problems in the exposed population were irritation of the eyes and upper respiratory tract, allergies, sleep disturbances, bronchitis, fatigue, skin problems, ear infections, and anemia. The prevalence ratios for the exposed versus unexposed populations were significant with regard to skin eruptions and other skin diseases, fatigue, sleep disturbances, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, bronchitis, and allergies. Women from the two groups did not show significant differences in the prevalence of obstetric problems, miscarriages, or children born with congenital deformities or low birthweight. The sensitivity of the questionnaire used to detect health problems was poor, which could have resulted in an underestimation of some disorders. Nevertheless, various types of information bias were controlled, permitting the conclusion that the exposed population had a greater risk of suffering certain diseases and disorders than the unexposed population.
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PMID:[Health status of the population in the vicinity of a waste recycling plant in Mexico]. 950 58

The humoral and cell-mediated immunities to a trivalent killed vaccine, administered subcutaneously to white leghorn-chicken layers at 29 and 31 weeks of age, and containing antigens of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), and Newcastle disease virus (NDV), were quantitated in five vaccinated and one unvaccinated-control group. Four out of the five vaccinated groups were immunopotentiated by various combinations of zinc and thymic hormones administered intraperitoneally in a volume of 0.1 ml per bird at an interval of three days for a period of three weeks, starting at 29 weeks of age. At each time interval, each bird of the first group received thymulin (10 ng) and ZnCl2 (1 microM), while each bird of the second group received thymopoietin (25 ng) and ZnCl2 (1 microM); in the third group, each bird received thymulin (10 ng), thymopoietin (25 ng), and ZnCl2 (1 microM), while each bird of the fourth group received only ZnCl2 (1 microM). Birds of the fifth group were only vaccinated and the control birds in the sixth group were left without vaccination or other immunopotentiation. Among all combinations, the thymulin-ZnCl2 resulted in birds with the highest humoral immunopotentiation to IBV, IBDV, and NDV antigens with respective percent increase in the mean titer at 33 weeks of age, compared with initial titer at 29 weeks of age, equivalent to 199%, 671.7%, and 86.4%. The highest cell-mediated delayed hypersensitivity reaction, measured at 48 h following an intradermal administration of the trivalent vaccine in the wattles at 33 weeks of age, was obtained in chickens immunopotentiated by the thymulin-thymopoietin-ZnCl2 combination.
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PMID:Humoral and cell-mediated immunopotentiation in vaccinated chicken layers by thymic hormones and zinc. 971 42

Aging and HIV have parallelism in immunodeficiency status because of the appearance of infections or relapse leading to death in both conditions. HIV-RNA is predictor for HIV progression correlated with CD4+ depletion. CD4+ and plasma zinc levels (zincaemia) may be predictors for infections relapse in aging because of zinc relevance for normal immune efficiency against infections and for CD4+ growth. Moreover, zincaemia decreases in aging and infection. A total of 67 elderly subjects affected by infections resistant to antibiotic therapy were recruited. A total of 28 HIV+ subjects with HAART therapy were also used. CD4+ depletion (507 mm3) and zincaemia deficiency (76 microg/dl), as compared to CD4+ (700-1100 mm3) and zincaemia (85-100 microg/dl; age 40-75 years) normal ranges, are possible limits (Cox hazard regression) for severe infections relapse, such as chronic obstructive bronchitis and bronchopneumonia by bacteria or Candida complication, in aging. CD4+ and zincaemia values are within the lower limits of normal range in urinary tract infections. Zincaemia and HIV-RNA or CD4+ are inversely correlated (r = 0.57 and r = 0.72, respectively) in HIV+ HAART treated subjects. Consequently there is no appearance of opportunistic infections. Parallelism between aging and HIV may exist because of the resemblance in marked zinc deficiency and CD4+ depletion with high scores in relative risks for severe infections relapse. Supplementing zinc (12 mg Zn++/day) for one month in infected elderly subjects and HAART therapy in HIV+ subjects reduces risk scores in CD4+ and zincaemia deficiencies for infections relapse, suggesting that the zinc beneficial effect may be independent either by HIV-virus or pathogen agents involved. While HAART may reduce the occurrence of opportunistic infections in HIV by means of also major zinc bioavailability, supplementing zinc can be recommended in elderly people as resistance to infections. Since zinc deficiency is correlated with CD4+ depletion, this latter may also be good diagnostic marker to detect 'clear immunodeficiency' in aging, as in HIV condition.
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PMID:Contribution of zinc to reduce CD4+ risk factor for 'severe' infection relapse in aging: parallelism with HIV. 1040 35

Chronic bronchitis may be considered a risk factor in particulate matter (PM)-induced morbidity. We hypothesized that a rat model of human bronchitis would be more susceptible to the pulmonary effects of concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) from Research Triangle Park, NC. Bronchitis was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats (90-100 days of age) by exposure to 200 ppm sulfur dioxide (SO2), 6 h/day x 5 days/week x 6 weeks. One day following the last SO2 exposure, both healthy (air-exposed) and bronchitic (SO2-exposed) rats were exposed to filtered air (three healthy; four bronchitic) or CAPs (five healthy; four bronchitic) by whole-body inhalation, 6 h/day x 2 or 3 days. Pulmonary injury was determined either immediately (0h) or 18 h following final CAPs exposure. The study protocol involving 0 h time point was repeated four times (study #A, November, 1997; #B, February, 1998; #C and #D, May, 1998), whereas the study protocol involving 18 h time point was done only once (#F). In an additional study (#E), rats were exposed to residual oil fly ash (ROFA), approximately 1 mg/ m(3)x6 h/day x 3 days to mimic the CAPs protocol (February, 1998). The rats allowed 18 h recovery following CAPs exposure (#F) did not depict any CAPs-related differences in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) injury markers. Of the four CAPs studies conducted (0 h time point), the first (#A) study (approximately 650 microg/m3 CAPs) revealed significant changes in the lungs of CAPs-exposed bronchitic rats compared to the clean air controls. These rats had increased BALF protein, albumin, N-acetyl glutaminidase (NAG) activity and neutrophils. The second (#B) study (approximately 475 microg/m3 CAPs) did not reveal any significant effects of CAPs on BALF parameters. Study protocols #C (approximately 869 microg/m3 CAPs) and #D (approximately 907 microg/m3 CAPs) revealed only moderate increases in the above mentioned BALF parameters in bronchitic rats exposed to CAPs. Pulmonary histologic evaluation of studies #A, #C, #D, and #F revealed marginally higher congestion and perivascular cellularity in CAPs-exposed bronchitic rats. Healthy and bronchitic rats exposed to ROFA (approximately 1 mg/m3) did not show significant pulmonary injury (#E). Analysis of leachable elemental components of CAPs revealed the presence of sulfur, zinc, manganese, and iron. There was an apparent lack of association between pulmonary injury and CAPs concentration, or its leachable sulfate or elemental content. In summary, real-time atmospheric PM may result in pulmonary injury, particularly in susceptible models. However, the variability observed in pulmonary responses to CAPs emphasizes the need to conduct repeated studies, perhaps in relation to the season, as composition of CAPs may vary. Additionally, potential variability in pathology of induced bronchitis or other lung disease may decrease the ability to distinguish toxic injury due to PM.
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PMID:Variable pulmonary responses from exposure to concentrated ambient air particles in a rat model of bronchitis. 1077 27

Abnormal increments of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-alpha) characterize the outbreak of infectious diseases, which are the major cause of death in the elderly. A counterbalance to the inflammation is exerted by IL-10 with an inhibitory role on TNF-alpha production. As is well known, some cytokine gene polymorphisms influence the cytokine production, playing a role as susceptibility or resistance factors against immune-mediated and infectious disease. Genetic variations in the -308A/G locus for TNF-alpha seems to affect the clinical outcome of some infectious diseases. In fact, the -308A allele is associated with severe septic shock and death. On this basis, we have screened healthy old subjects, nonagenarians and old patients affected by the acute phase of chronic obstructive bronchitis and bronchopneumonia of bacteria origin for the -308G/A locus (PCR-RFLP). Subjects are grouped in A+ (AG, AA genotypes) and A- (GG genotype) and data on IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-10, NK cell cytotoxicity, zinc and metallothioneins (MTs) gene expression (RT-PCR) were stratified according to different TNF-alpha genotypes. The frequency of the A allele was increased in infected patients in comparison with healthy old controls. No differences existed between A+ and A- young adult, old and nonagenarian controls in tested parameters. Conversely, A+-infected patients displayed elevated IL-6, TNF-alpha and MTmRNA, low IL-10 coupled with impaired NK cell cytotoxicity and lower zinc ion than A- patients. However, the data reported are gender independent. Therefore, the -308A polymorphism at the locus of TNF-alpha may be one of the susceptibility factor for infectious diseases in old persons, particularly considering its association to the increased release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and to the reduction of zinc release and MTs synthesis involved in the control of the inflammatory response. These data strongly suggest that the genetic screening of the -308G/A polymorphism may be a valid tool for identification of subjects needing a more appropriate therapy when affected by acute and/or recurrent infectious diseases.
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PMID:The -308G/A polymorphism of TNF-alpha influences immunological parameters in old subjects affected by infectious diseases. 1568 88

Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) develops insidiously in nearly half of all lung transplant recipients. Although typically preceded by a CD8(+) T cell-rich lymphocytic bronchitis, it remains unresponsive to conventional immunosuppression. Using an airflow permissive model to study the role of gases flowing over the transplanted airway, it is shown that prolonged inhalation of sublethal doses of carbon monoxide (CO), but not nitric oxide (NO), obliterate the appearance of the obstructive airway lesion. Induction of the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of CO, heme oxygenase (Hmox) 1, increased carboxyhemoglobin levels and suppressed lymphocytic bronchitis and airway luminal occlusion after transplantation. In contrast, zinc protoporphyrin IX, a competitive inhibitor of Hmox, increased airway luminal occlusion. Compared with wild-type allografts, expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), which promotes the influx of cytoeffector leukocytes and airway graft rejection, was strikingly reduced by either enhanced expression of Hmox-1 or exogenous CO. Hmox-1/CO decreased nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB binding activity to the iNOS promoter region and iNOS expression. Inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase did not interfere with the ability of CO to suppress OB, implicating a cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate-independent mechanism through which CO suppresses NF-kappaB, iNOS transcription, and OB. Prolonged CO inhalation represents a new immunosuppresive strategy to prevent OB.
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PMID:Reciprocal regulation of airway rejection by the inducible gas-forming enzymes heme oxygenase and nitric oxide synthase. 1602 38


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