Reversible and irreversible airway inflammation and fibrosis in mice exposed to inhaled ovalbumin

Objective and design: We examined the reversibility of several changes in the lungs and airways of mice immediately after exposure to ovalbumin aerosol and after a period of recovery breathing clean air.Methods: Mice were exposed for 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 weeks, with recovery in clean air for 1–3 weeks.Results: Airway collagen content, exhaled NO, airway mucous cell hyperplasia, and lung lavage inflammatory cell content increased upon exposure to ovalbumin aerosol. All parameters except airway fibrosis decreased partially or completely to control values with recovery in clean air.Conclusions: Airway mucous cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia appear to be completely reversible after recovery in clean air, while exhaled NO and airway inflammation appear to be mostly reversible, except for persistence of lymphocytes in the lung lavage fluid. Airway fibrosis appears to be reversible when mice are exposed to ovalbumin aerosol for periods of up to 4 weeks of exposure, but becomes irreversible after 6 or more weeks of exposure.Received 30 June 2004; returned for revision 24 September 2004; accepted by J. S. Skotnicki 13 October 2004     

The effects of orthodontic tooth movement on the glycosaminoglycan components of gingival crevicular fluid

Abstract In this study, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected from around a canine tooth, in children, before and during orthodontic tooth movement. The aim was to identify and quantify the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) components of GCF and relate them to tooth movement, gingival inflammation, plaque accumulation, pocket probing depth and GCF volume recorded at the site of sampling. GAG in GCF samples, collected for a 15-min period into microcapillary tubes, were separated electrophoretically, stained with Alcian blue and quantified using a laser densitometer. 2 GAG components of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) were identified. The increase in GCF volume during orthodontic tooth movement was only partly due to increased gingival inflammation, GAG levels varied with different types of orthodontic tooth movement. In GCF, levels of CS, in particular, may reflect the changes in the deeper periodontal tissues which could be monitored during orthodontic tooth movements.     

Effect of zidovudine resistance mutations on virologic response to treatment with zidovudine or stavudine,each in combination with lamivudine and indinavir

The authors studied the effect of zidovudine (ZDV) resistance mutation on virologic response to treatment with ZDV or stavudine (d4T) each in combination with lamivudine and indinavir. Viral genotyping was performed on plasma HIV-1 RNA at study entry and concerned 155 patients previously treated with ZDV, didanosine, or zalcitabine and enrolled in the NOVAVIR (Agence National de Recherche sur le SIDA [ANRS] 073) trial. Three virologic responses were investigated: early response (<50 copies/mL at week 24), late response (<500 copies/mL at week 80), and virologic failure (two HIV-1 RNA >5000 copies/mL). Patients were classified as resistant or susceptible to ZDV according to the ANRS algorithm. Plasma viral RNA from 123 of 155 patients had two or more ZDV resistance mutations. The number of ZDV resistance mutations was positively correlated with the duration of prior antiviral therapy (p <.001). At week 24, 74% and 77% of patients with virus classified as resistant were responders in the d4T and ZDV arm, respectively. Similar results were found at week 80. Virologic failure was reached in 7 of 24 patients with virus classified as susceptible and in 26 of 131 patients with resistant virus (p =.29). In the ZDV arm, patients classified as resistant had longer times to virologic failure than those classified as susceptible (p =.003). In conclusion, sustained virologic response despite presence of ZDV resistance mutations implies that these mutations do not preclude an early and durable response to treatment with a potent three-drug regimen in these patients. Patients susceptible to ZDV had lower median mean corpuscular volumes and lower random indinavir levels, suggesting that adherence was the main reason for failure.