Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease. Around 5 to 10% of patients classified as having severe asthma can-not be adequately controlled despite the use of all currently available therapeutic approaches. Previous studies have revealed the potential important role of miRNAs in the regulation of a variety of inflammatory processes, including asthma. Expression of selected miRNAs, specifically let-7a, miR-21 and miR-223, that were shown to have important roles in asthma pathogenesis, were analyzed in bronchial biopsies of 24 patients with asthma, 12 mild and 12 severe, and 10 controls with no chronic disease. We found significantly reduced expression of let-7a in bronchial biopsies from patients with severe asthma in comparison to patients with mild asthma as well as in comparison to the non-asthmatic controls. On the other hand, no significant differences in miR-21 and miR-223 expression were found between the different groups analyzed. Reduced let-7a levels in bronchial biopsies of patients with severe therapy-resistant asthma could not only be used as a potential biomarker to discriminate between different asthma phenotypes, but also might be a target for modulation of treatment at the inflammatory site for a group of patients that are most affected and still lack effective treatment. In this study we demonstrated decreased expression of let-7a bronchial biopsies of patients with severe asthma. Determination of let-7a levels could not only be used as a potential biomarker to discriminate between different asthma phenotypes, but also might be a target for modulation of treatment in severe therapy-resistant asthmatics.
COBISS.SI-ID: 37501701
We recently showed a desensitization of FcεRI-mediated basophil response after short-term venom immunotherapy (VIT). Our aim was to evaluate the allergen specificity of this desensitization. In this study we clearly showed that short-term VIT induced basophil desensitization to VIT-specific as well as to VIT-nonspecific allergens, preferably due to the down regulation of FcεRI pathway. As opposed to long-term VIT, which induces venom-specific changes, the effect of short-term VIT seems to be venom-nonspecific.
COBISS.SI-ID: 37295365
Introduction: Chronic urticaria (CU) severely affects quality of life. If symptoms are not controlled by antihistamines, patients need immunomodulatory drugs. Recent studies show a tremendous effect of omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody against human IgE in refractory CU. Methods: We report on the use of omalizumab in four patients with CU. By reviewing medical files, we estimated the proportion of CU patients that are candidates for such treatment. We reviewed the literature to compare the dosing schedules and outcome measures used in different studies. Results: Up to 14% of CU patients referred to a tertiary center are candidates for omalizumab. Four of our CU were patients treated with doses of 150 mg/month or less, and all responded with nearly complete remission of symptoms. In the literature, 90% of patients respond to treatment, the response being obvious in days. Half of patients were able to stop all other medications, including antihistamines. More than half of patients responded well to doses of 150 mg of omalizumab every 4 to 8 weeks. In the majority of patients, the disease relapsed after discontinuation of omalizumab. Conclusions: Omalizumab should be offered to patients with refractory CU. The duration of treatment is not known.
COBISS.SI-ID: 37583877
Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are regulatory lymphocytes that may be important in disorders with increased Th1 responses. We utilized a 4-year longitudinal observational study of iNKT cells and SLAM signaling pathway factors, which are important for iNKT development in patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis. Our longitudinal study showed that a disposal of iNKT deficiency in parallel with an increase in expression of SLAM signaling factors characterizes the clinical remission of sarcoidosis.
COBISS.SI-ID: 37512965