Showing papers by "Zhihua Chen published in 2013"

Asthma research in China: A five‐year review

Abstract: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide with increasing morbidity. China has the largest asthmatic population and is one of the countries with the highest asthma mortality. Fortunately, asthma research in China, both clinical and scientific, has developed markedly over the past few years. This has resulted in significant increases in our understanding of Chinese asthma prevalence, risk factors, control status, pathogenesis, and new prevention or treatment strategies. In this review, the major achievements of asthma research in China from 2008 to 2012 are summarized.

P. aeruginosa Lipopolysaccharide-Induced MUC5AC and CLCA3 Expression Is Partly through Duox1 In Vitro and In Vivo

Abstract: Background We have previously found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (PA-LPS) induced MUC5AC in airway epithelial cells. Dual oxidase1 (Duox1), a member of NADPH oxidase(Nox), is known to be responsible for ROS production in respiratory tract epithelial cells. Our aim was to clarify whether Duox1 was also involved in the PA-LPS-induced MUC5AC and calcium dependent chloride channel 3(Clca3), another recognized marker of goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus hyper-production.

Genetic Polymorphism of Matrix Metalloproteinase Family and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Susceptibility: a Meta-analysis

Abstract: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family is considered to be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathogenesis, however, no consistent results have been provided by previous studies. In this report, we performed Meta analysis to investigate the association between four kinds of MMP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP, MMP1 -1607 1G/2G, MMP3 -1171 5A/6A, MMP9 -1562 C/T, MMP12 -82 A/G) and COPD risk from 21 studies including 4184 cases and 5716 controls. Both overall and subgroup association between SNP and COPD susceptibility were tested. There was no evident association between MMP polymorphisms and COPD susceptibility in general population. On the other hand, subgroup analysis suggested that MMP9 -1562 C/T polymorphism was related to COPD, as we found that C allele carriers were at lower risk in some subgroups stratified by lung function, age and genotype identification method, compared with TT homozygotes. Our results indicated the genotype TT might be one genetic risk factor of severe COPD.

Investigations on the exterior flow field and the efficiency of the muzzle brake

Abstract: Numerical investigations of the projectile launch process with different muzzle brakes have been performed in a nearly realistic situation. Both two- and three-dimensional unsteady Euler equations are used as the governing equations. The hybrid Roe type scheme is employed to solve the flow fields with strong blast waves, and structured dynamic mesh technique is used for describing projectile motion. Based on the numerical solutions, the flow structures of a bare muzzle, the three-way and multi-hole muzzle brakes have been described, respectively, which agree well with our previous experimental shadowgraphs. Moreover, the efficiency of the three-way muzzle brake is calculated, which is also comparable to the corresponding experimental value. Our results showed that the numerical simulation can be a useful and efficient way for the design of new muzzle brakes.

Distant lymph nodes serve as pools of Th1 cells induced by neonatal BCG vaccination for the prevention of asthma in mice.

Abstract: Background Neonatal Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccination induces vigorous T-helper type 1 (Th1) responses and inhibits allergy-related airway dysfunction, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear. The objective of this study was to address where the Th1 cells induced by neonatal BCG vaccination are generated and stored, and how they are recruited into the inflamed airway for the prevention of allergen-induced airway inflammation. Methods We vaccinated neonatal C57BL/6 mice with BCG in a mouse model of asthma and analyzed the expression and function of Th1 cells in vivo and in vitro. Results BCG vaccination–induced Th1 cells in the local inguinal lymph nodes (ILN) migrated into the lungs upon inhaled ovalbumin (OVA) challenge in OVA-sensitized mice. These CD4+ T cells in the ILN exhibited potentials of activation, proliferation and cytokine secretion and expressed high levels of CXCR3. Adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells from BCG-treated ILN significantly decreased allergic airway responses. In addition, the protective effect of BCG vaccination against allergic airway inflammation was lost upon the excision of the ILN. Conclusions These data demonstrate that ILN serves as a ‘weapon’ pool of Th1 cells following BCG vaccination, and these cells are ready for the migration into the inflamed lungs upon the allergen challenge, thereby inhibiting allergen-induced airway disorder.

Prevention of allergic airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling in mice by Astragaliradix Antiasthmatic decoction

Abstract: Astragali radix Antiasthmatic Decoction (AAD), a traditional Chinese medication, is found effective in treating allergic diseases and chronic cough. The purpose of this study is to determine whether this medication could suppress allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and remodeling in mice, and its possible mechanisms. A mouse model of chronic asthma was used to investigate the effects of AAD on the airway lesions. Mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA), and the extent of AHR and airway remodeling were characterized. Cells and cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were examined. AAD treatment effectively decreased OVA-induced AHR, eosinophilic airway inflammation, and collagen deposition around the airway. It significantly reduced the levels of IL-13 and TGF-β1, but exerted inconsiderable effect on INF-γ and IL-10. AAD greatly improves the symptoms of allergic airway remodeling probably through inhibition of Th2 cytokines and TGF-β1.

WormStep: An Improved Compact Graphical Representation of DNA Sequences Based on Worm Curve

Abstract: National Natural Science Foundation of China [60803113, 61003038]; Natural Scientific Research Innovation Foundation in HIT [HIT.NSFIR.2010128]

Moving forward: Respirology supplement on chronic airway inflammation research in China.

Abstract: It gives us great pleasure to introduce this Respirology supplement on chronic airway inflammation research, with an emphasis on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The publication of this issue would not have been possible without the contributions of many people. WileyBlackwell helped to launch the project and sent out a call for papers from China. A Chinese editorial board comprised of Professors Rongchang Chen, Jian Kang, Xin Zhou, Chuntao Liu and Guangfa Wang provided the first-tier peer review process, and we are immensely grateful for their support. Lily Jiang, the production editor, has offered excellent support with managing the review process and preparing the issue for publication, and we are most grateful to her. We originally received 22 submissions from Chinese respirologists; after a thorough peer-review process, seven of these, including two reviews, were accepted for publication. The accepted original papers cover both basic and clinical research into asthma and COPD, with one review each dedicated to COPD and asthma, respectively. In the first original research paper, Liang et al. show that p38MAPK is critically involved in asthma triggered by a combination of ozone and ovalbumin, and that co-treatment of dexamethasone and p38MAPK inhibitor effectively reduced lung inflammation and inhibited airway remodelling. This suggests that p38MAPK is likely to be involved in corticosteroid insensitivity of severe asthma. The second research paper demonstrates a critical role for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma in the airway’s inflammatory response to cigarette smoke exposure in human bronchial epithelial 16-HBE cells. The third study examines the mechanisms behind respiratory syncytial virus-induced wheezing, and demonstrates that the virus infection induces mRNA expression of Leukotriene C4 synthase and increases protein levels of cysteinyl leukotrienes in 16-HBE cells. In the following two clinical investigations, the first examines the effects of nebulized high-dose budesonide on moderate-to-severe acute exacerbation of asthma in children, while the second explores the efficacy and safety of procaterol in combination with inhaled budesonide for treatment of cough-variant asthma. The first review by Zhou and Chen summarizes the risk factors and interventions for COPD in China. The second review summarizes the major achievements of asthma research in China between 2008 and 2012. Asthma and COPD are both obstructive airway diseases that involve chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract. These two chronic airway disorders are both very common and have a significant impact on individuals, their families and society. Asthma affects 300 million individuals worldwide, with the prevalence ranging from 1% to 18% of the population in different countries. COPD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and is estimated to be the fourth leading cause of death by 2020. In China, COPD was the third leading cause of death in 2010. Fortunately, more and more people acknowledge the seriousness of asthma and COPD, and importantly, more and more clinicians and scientists are devoting themselves to research into asthma and COPD. These efforts are significantly increasing our understanding of the disease prevalence, risk factors, control status, pathogenesis and new prevention or treatment strategies. The number of asthma and COPD research publications from China has increased substantially over the last decade. Searching Pubmed for the key words ‘asthma, China’ or ‘COPD, China’, retrieved 2672 or 1234 results respectively (to date of September 6, 2013). A total of 52 asthma papers and 22 COPD papers were published from China in 2000, which has increased to 336 asthma and 194 COPD papers in 2012 (Fig. 1). It is not surprising that the number of COPD publications is lower than the number of asthma publications, as COPD research has progressed less worldwide than asthma research due to the disease complexity and challenges associated with developing appropriate animal models. In 2000, the total numbers of asthma and COPD publications from China made up only a very small part of those worldwide, with 1.9% and 3.0% for asthma and COPD, respectively. However, it is encouraging to see that both of these ratios increased in 2012 to approximately 5.6%. Based on the upward trend observed in the last decade, we expect original respiratory research from China to continue to increase its international profile in the coming years. From all the studies on chronic airway diseases in China, we would like to highlight the following studies of great significance. In a 2-year follow-up study in young students, Zhong et al. found that a small population (around 2.5%) had asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness, and in this group, 39.5% finally developed symptomatic asthma. This study introduced the concept of ‘potential asthma’, which has now been widely accepted. We recently identified another new phenotype of asthma, chest tightness variant asthma, whose sole presenting manifestation is chest tightness. These new concepts will lead bs_bs_banner

Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability of the Explosive Heavy Gas Cloud

Abstract: Gas explosions are one of the most widespread hazards in process industry, and usually, investigations are performed on chemical gas explosions [1, 2], and the physical, rapid expansion of dense gases, even it is also explosive, attracts much less attention.