Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness. Clinically, these features are manifested by attacks of cough, wheezing, and dyspnoea. Nocturnal asthma symptoms are frequent; 39% of asthmatics awaken nightly, and 94% have nocturnal awakenings at least once a month. A number of mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain the phenomenon of nocturnal asthma, including exposure to dust mite allergen, late-phase allergic reactions, effects of posture and sleep stage on airway tone, gastro-oesophageal reflex, impaired mucociliary clearance, airway cooling, and changes in circadian rhythms of circulating hormones. While no single mechanism can explain these changes, circadian rhythms may be particularly relevant. Normal airway tone increases during sleep and is magnified in asthmatics. Bronchial responsiveness to histamine and allergen challenge increases during sleep and mast cell mediator release is enhanced. Circulating eosinophils increase, which may allow their ingress into pulmonary tissue. Decreases in plasma catecholamine and cortisol levels have also been observed. All of these may influence airway tone, inflammation, and responsiveness during sleep and produce the observed clinical picture. Inhaled sympathomimetics are frequently ineffective in preventing nocturnal symptoms due to their short duration of action. While corticosteroids, cromoglycate, and anticholinergics are effective, sustained-release theophylline is particularly advantageous for controlling nocturnal symptoms. Once-daily theophylline when dosed in the evening not only controls nocturnal symptoms and improves airflow during the early morning hours, but decreases airway responsiveness to histamine as well. The close association between airway inflammation, airway hyper-responsiveness, and nocturnal asthma symptoms makes further studies of the mechanism of action of theophylline especially interesting.
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PMID:Nocturnal asthma: mechanisms and the role of theophylline in treatment. 175 31

We report two cases of recurrent episodes of hoarseness, cough, flushing, pruritus, and rash occurring within 30 minutes of topical exposure to carbonless copy paper. Provocative challenges revealed that alkylphenol novolac resin was the ingredient responsible. Video endoscopy of the larynx was performed and plasma histamine levels were obtained prior to and 30 minutes after cutaneous challenge of a patient with alkylphenol novolac resin. We documented marked laryngeal edema and a sixfold increase in plasma histamine levels after challenge. We conclude that topical exposure to carbonless copy paper may cause mast cell/basophil-mediated acute systemic and potentially life-threatening reactions in susceptible patients.
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PMID:Acute systemic reactions to carbonless copy paper associated with histamine release. 245 72

The respective prevalence of hypertension and asthma is sufficient for their combined existence to be far from rare. The effects of certain antihypertensive drugs, e.g., alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists, on the bronchi may be either harmful or beneficial. When inhaled, alpha 2-agonists reduce the immediate bronchial response to allergens, whereas when ingested they aggravate the bronchial response to histamine and all the more so when their effect on the central nervous system is greater. Therefore, there has been much interest in agents such as the new oxazoline derivative, rilmenidine, which has less central effects than clonidine, an imidazoline compound of reference. Calcium antagonists inhibit smooth muscle contraction and release of mast cell inflammatory mediators. In asthmatic subjects, their short-term administration leads to a modest improvement in spontaneous bronchial obstruction, has only a partial protective action against various nonspecific or allergenic stimuli, and slightly reinforces the beneficial effect of beta 2-agonists. Beta-adrenoceptor antagonists aggravate bronchial obstruction and nonspecific bronchial hyperreactivity in asthmatic subjects. These harmful effects are dose-dependent, have even been reported after the administration of eyedrops, and are common to all beta-blockers. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors increase bronchial hyperreactivity in patients who develop cough during treatment and may, in certain cases, worsen or even induce asthma, probably by opposing inactivation by hydrolysis of tachykinins and of bradykinins.
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PMID:Bronchial effects of alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonists and of other antihypertensive agents in asthma. 257 Dec 93

In summary, mast cell activation is associated with the release of chemotactic factors, enzymes, proteoglycans, and vasoactive mediators. The vasoactive mediators include the leukotrienes, prostaglandin PGD2, adenosine, PAF, and histamine. Their effects are associated with an early phase reaction. This early reaction in the airways is manifested by cough, wheeze, mucous secretion, and a short-lived bronchospastic response. The release of chemotactic factors perhaps including PAF, eosinophil-directed and neutrophil-directed mediators would be associated with the influx into the airway of a variety of leukocytes although neutrophils and eosinophils predominate. The eosinophil contains a variety of toxic materials including a major basic protein known to kill tracheal epithelial cells. The eosinophil also generates PAF and leukotrienes. It could, therefore, be responsible for a self-sustaining tissue damaging inflammatory infiltrate. And finally, there are the neutral protease enzymes whose function remains unknown. It is tempting to speculate that the vasoactive mediators cause an early phase reaction while the enzymes and chemotactic factors set up the inflammation associated with a late phase response. The clinical pertinence to this has been demonstrated by researchers who studied nonspecific bronchial reactivity in patients who have early phase reactions only as compared with those who have both early and late phase reactions to antigen bronchoprovocation. These individuals with only an early phase reaction following antigen bronchoprovocation have a lesser degree of sensitivity to histamine, ie, it requires more histamine to cause bronchoconstriction, and there is no change in their histamine threshold after their early phase response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Basic mechanisms in asthma. 316 72

Normally the daily volume of lower respiratory tract secretions, in man, is probably less than 100 ml. In hypersecretory disease the volume increases sufficiently to cause cough and expectoration of secretions as sputum. The proportions which are sol or gel vary in disease as does the way in which constituent molecules partition in each phase. The constituent molecules and the cells which produce them (indicated in parentheses) may be classified as follows: 1. Mucus-glycoproteins present as droplets, or sheets (produced by mucous cells), periciliary fluid (serous or ciliated cell or a transudate), surface muco-substance (all epithelial cells) or surfactant hypophase (Clara or type II alveolar cells). 2. Proteins and peptides such as lysozyme (serous cell and macrophage), lactoferrin (serous cell and neutrophil), secretory piece (surface epithelium and submucosal glands), regulatory neuropeptides (dense-core granulated cell and both motor and sensory nerves) and fibronectin (alveolar macrophages). 3. Glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulphate (epithelial membranes), heparin (mast cell), chondroitin sulphates and hyaluronate (connective tissue constituents). 4. Lipids including triglycerides (stored in cells) glycolipids (cell membrane), phospholipids (type II alveolar cells), sphingolipids (cell membrane), steroids (? Clara cells) and terpenes (cell membrane). 5. Anti-proteases and anti-oxidants such as bronchial protease inhibitors (serous anc Clara cells), alpha-2-macroglobulin (macrophage), alpha-1-antitrypsin (transudate) and anti-oxidants (type II alveolar cell and macrophage). 6. Other 'secretions' including ions and water (surface epithelium and submucosal glands), mediators of inflammation (migratory cell granules and their membranes), and serum proteins (present in transudate/exudate).
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PMID:The origins of secretions in the lower respiratory tract. 332 67

The efficacy of lodoxamide tromethamine in the treatment of asthma was studied in a 16-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 68 perennial allergic subjects with asthma. Patients received either lodoxamide tromethamine, 0.25 mg four times daily, or placebo, administered by metered-dose inhaler. Response to treatment was assessed by analyzing changes in asthma symptoms, inhaled bronchodilator requirements, and pulmonary function when compared to a 2-week baseline period. Patients treated with lodoxamide tromethamine demonstrated an improvement in daytime breathing difficulty, cough, sputum production, and sleep (p less than 0.01 to 0.05), but improvement was not significantly different from that demonstrated by placebo-treated patients. Patients from both treatment groups were able to reduce their inhaled bronchodilators (p less than 0.01), but again no significant difference was apparent between lodoxamide tromethamine and placebo treatment, nor were there any differences in peak expiratory flow rate or FEV1 between the two groups. Seven patients who received lodoxamide tromethamine withdrew because of a sensation of heat and gastrointestinal symptoms. Thus, although lodoxamide tromethamine possesses potent mast cell-stabilizing activity in vitro, we have failed to demonstrate any useful long-term effect in the treatment of mild allergic asthma.
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PMID:Inhaled lodoxamide tromethamine in the treatment of perennial asthma: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. 400 15

This review describes novel aspects of enzymes in the pertinent tissues of the airway and those associated with inflammatory cells. These include neutral endopeptidase, histamine N-methyltransferase, mast cell and neutrophil enzymes which have a potentially important role in the modulation of several airway functions such as bronchoconstriction, gland secretion, plasma extravasation and cough. Thus, regulation of enzyme activities in the airways may have new therapeutic implications in inflammatory diseases of airways.
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PMID:Enzymatic modulation of bronchoconstriction, gland secretion, plasma extravasation and cough. 794 May 21

Bullous mastocytosis is an unusual expression of mastocytosis typically seen in young children, and many causes of the acute mast cell degranulation with bulla formation have been identified. We report a 6-month-old boy with urticaria pigmentosa and an extensive bullous eruption associated with the ingestion of a nonprescription cough suppressant containing dextromethorphan. The pathogenesis of mastocytosis and the care of patients with this disease are discussed.
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PMID:Bullous mastocytosis in an infant associated with the use of a nonprescription cough suppressant. 889 44

In previous studies, the peptide hormone relaxin (RLX) was found to inhibit mast cell secretion and platelet activation. It has been established that the release of mediators from these cells plays a central pathogenic role in allergic asthma. This prompted us to ascertain whether RLX may counteract the respiratory and histopathological abnormalities of the asthma-like reaction to inhaled antigen in sensitized guinea pigs. Guinea pigs were sensitized with ovalbumin and challenged with the same antigen given by aerosol. Some animals received RLX (30 microg/kg BW, twice daily for 4 days) before antigen challenge. Other animals received inactivated RLX in place of authentic RLX. Respiratory abnormalities, such as cough and dyspnea, were analyzed as were light and electron microscopic features of lung specimens. RLX was shown to reduce the severity of respiratory abnormalities, as well as histological alterations, mast cell degranulation, and leukocyte infiltration in sensitized guinea pigs exposed to ovalbumin aerosol. RLX was also found to promote dilation of alveolar blood capillaries and to reduce the thickness of the air-blood barrier. This study provides evidence for an antiasthmatic property of RLX and raises the possibility of new therapeutic strategies for allergic asthma in humans.
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PMID:Relaxin counteracts asthma-like reaction induced by inhaled antigen in sensitized guinea pigs. 911 86

Inflammation with infiltrations of eosinophils and mast cells into the walls of airways is considered to increase airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), which in turn characterizes asthma. We present a child with AHR in whom the clinical course of asthma was related to eosinophilic bronchitis. Our patient was admitted at age 6 months with bronchiolitis and at age 4 years with asthma. Inhaled corticosteroids were begun at age 7 years. At age 8 he developed a meningeal sarcoma. While on chemotherapy, his asthma symptoms resolved and he no longer required prophylactic asthma treatment. After 14 months off all chemotherapy, he again had mild episodic asthma. While receiving chemotherapy for malignancy, he had an admission with a coagulase negative staphylococcal bacteremia. During sputum induction with 4.5% saline, he developed cough, wheeze, and a 20% reduction in peak expiratory flow (220 to 180 L/min) that reversed after treatment with salbutamol. The sputum cell count was 1.7 x 10(6)/ml with 1.1 x 10(6) being neutrophils. Two weeks later and prior to the induction of the second sputum, a 21% increase in FEV1 was recorded after bronchodilator inhalation (82% to 99% of predicted). The second sputum contained 2.7 x 10(6)/ml cells with 1.6 x 10(6)/ml neutrophils. Neither eosinophils nor mast cells were identified in the sputum. A third sputum obtained 14 months after the cessation of chemotherapy showed a sputum cell count of 16 x 10(6)/ml, with 11.6 x 10(6) neutrophils and 0.4 x 10(6) eosinophils; no mast cells were detected. A reversible 15% reduction in FEV1 was detected on hypertonic saline challenge testing. This boy had persistent airway hyperreactivity and reversible airways obstruction on three occasions during and following chemotherapy. When he developed asthma symptoms, his sputum contained neutrophils and eosinophils; while on chemotherapy his sputum did not contain eosinophils and he was symptom-free and off all asthma therapy. One can speculate that chemotherapy for malignancy can induce a remission in asthma symptoms but not AHR, and remission in symptoms is associated with a lack of eosinophilic or mast cell infiltrates in the sputum.
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PMID:Chemotherapy for malignancy induces a remission in asthma symptoms and airway inflammation but not airway hyperresponsiveness. 971 Feb 82


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