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Sensitizing and Th2 Adjuvant Activity of Cysteine Protease AllergensHere, we report on a model that does not use Th2-skewing adjuvants and yet achieves sensitization solely via the nasal mucosa.
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Longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding associated with reduced risk of childhood asthma up to age sixBreastfeeding is recommended for all infants irrespective of atopic heredity, although epidemiological studies provide conflicting results in this debate.
The Respiratory Environmental Health team conducts research in early life determinants of lung growth and development, respiratory environmental health, and mechanisms of airway dysfunction in asthma and other respiratory disease.
Research
Impaired interferon response in plasmacytoid dendritic cells from children with persistent wheezeImpaired interferon response and allergic sensitization may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in antiviral immunity as critical producers of type I interferons.
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ACE2 expression is elevated in airway epithelial cells from older and male healthy individuals but reduced in asthmaCOVID-19 is complicated by acute lung injury, and death in some individuals. It is caused by SARS-CoV-2 that requires the ACE2 receptor and serine proteases to enter AEC. We determined what factors are associated with ACE2 expression particularly in patients with asthma and COPD. We obtained lower AEC from 145 people from two independent cohorts, aged 2-89 years, Newcastle (n = 115) and Perth (n = 30), Australia. The Newcastle cohort was enriched with people with asthma (n = 37) and COPD (n = 38). Gene expression for ACE2 and other genes potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 cell entry was assessed by qPCR, and protein expression was confirmed with immunohistochemistry on endobronchial biopsies and cultured AEC.
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Childhood vaccination and allergy: A systematic review and meta-analysisAs the rise in prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide corresponds in time with increasing infant vaccination, it has been hypothesized that childhood vaccination may increase the risk of allergic disease. We aimed to synthesize the literature on the association between childhood vaccination and allergy.
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Respiratory infection- and asthma-prone, low vaccine responder children demonstrate distinct mononuclear cell DNA methylation pathwaysnfants with frequent viral and bacterial respiratory infections exhibit compromised immunity to routine immunizations. They are also more likely to develop chronic respiratory diseases in later childhood. This study investigated the feasibility of epigenetic profiling to reveal endotype-specific molecular pathways with potential for early identification and immuno-modulation.
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Hypoallergenic der p 1/Der p 2 combination vaccines for immunotherapy of house dust mite allergyMore than 50% of allergic patients have house dust mite (HDM) allergy.
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Vitamin D and atopy and asthma phenotypes in childrenThe purpose of this Review was to give an overview of the recent research into whether a lack of vitamin D contributes to the development of atopy and asthma...
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Real world effectiveness of early ensitrelvir treatment in patients with SARS-CoV-2, a retrospective case seriesEnsitrelvir, a 3C-like protease inhibitor, received emergency approval in Japan in November 2022 for treating non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. However, confirmation of its real-world clinical effectiveness is limited.