clair088

The initiation and perpetuation of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is known to be associated with host-microbial interactions.   Many studies have investigated these interactions with CRS in order to understand the mechanisms of the disease and provide better treatment options.   Dr. Hamilos summarizes the knowledge of host-microbial interactions in regards to normal sinus physiology and pathology, patients with CRS with and without polyps, and allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2014; 133(3): 640-653 ).   Much of the research on the subject of CRS has been on bacterial infection and potential defects in innate immunity that might predispose patients to sinus infections.   Of CRS patients undergoing surgical intervention, more than 50% have bacterial biofilm in their diseased sinus tissues.     Biofilm is an important survival mechanism of bacteria allowing for attachment to surfaces.   The biofilm has been described to have an ...

About 50% of asthmatics that are genetically screened have T helper type 2 (Th2)-driven inflammation that is characterized by improved symptoms with inhaled corticosteroid response, higher IgE levels, and higher peripheral blood eosinophils.   While this genetic profiling is highly valuable by elucidating the pathogenesis of asthma and tailoring individual treatment regimens, bronchial airway epithelium brushings are invasive which limits its application to childhood asthma research.   This realization led Poole et al to determine if less invasive nasal airway epithelium brushings can proxy expression changes seen in the bronchial airway transcriptome in children with asthma ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2014, 133(3): 670-678 ) .  In a cohort of Puerto Rican children, the authors used whole transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on nasal airway brushings from 10 controls and 10 subjects with asthma and targeted RNA-seq on 50 asthmatics and 50 controls to profile 105 genes. Th...