1,198 research outputs found
Reduced placental FOXP3 associated with subsequent infant allergic disease
No full textLetter to the editorSusan L. Prescott, Meri Tulic, Annette Osei Kumah, Tara Richman, Maxine Crook, David Martino, Janet A. Dunstan, Boris Novakovic, Richard Saffery, Vicki L. Clifto
Prenatal programming of the innate immune response following in utero exposure to inflammation: A sexually dimorphic process?
No full textMaternal infection and inflammation are common events during pregnancy. This article documents evidence that suggests such inflammation compromises the development of the fetal innate immune response, in support of an in utero origins hypothesis of neonatal and childhood inflammatory disease. The potential for this response to exhibit sex specificity is also explored, based on evidence of sexually dimorphic placental responses to maternal inflammation.Nicolette A Hodyl, Michael J Stark, Annette Osei-Kumah and Vicki L Clifto
Sex specific differences in placental micro RNA expression in pregnancies complicated by asthma
No full textAbstract #882 presented Saturday, March 27, 2010 • Poster Session III· Cypress Room.Abstract not availableAnnette Osei-Kumah, Nicolette Hodyl, Julie Owens, Vicki L Clifto
Asthma during pregnancy
No full textAlso has ISBN 9781780840420Asthma is a serious complication that is often under-reported and undermanaged during pregnancy. The current guidelines for the care of pregnant asthmatics are similar to treating a nonpregnant asthmatic It is important to treat asthma exacerbations during pregnancy to avoid a poor outcome for the fetus. The best clinical approach for reducing exacerbation rates during pregnancy and improving the outcome for the fetus is through asthma education combined with an asthma self-management plan administered in a combined antenatal and respiratory clinic.Vicki L. Clifton, Brian Smith, Anil Roy, Annette Osei-Kumah, Nicolette Hodyl, Michael J. Stark, Nayana Parange & Zarqa Sai
Annette Harvey Diary, 1906-1910
No full textAnnette Harvey, of Arkansas, West Virginia, and Ohio, recounts events of her daily life in this 'Line a Day' diary. She was the daughter of William Hope Harvey, aka 'Coin' Harvey, a well-known businessman, politician, author and founder of the resort of Monte Ne and the Ozark Association. Annette's brief entries record visits, housework, dances, parties, a train trip to New York, weather, church services and socials over a 5 year period, 1906-1910. Addresses and miscellaneous thoughts, quotations, poems, are recorded at the end of the volume. A photograph of her home made in 1906 is tipped in at the front of the diary
Proteomics in asthma
No full textProteomic approaches have already been successfully implemented in areas such as cancer research. Surprisingly, only a few proteomics analyses have been published reporting on the protein profiles associated with asthma. Although proteomics has its limitations and experimental challenges, it can successfully contribute to the understanding of a complex disease such as asthma. We have reviewed the current literature that has reported the use of proteomic techniques to identify proteins that may contribute to altered lung function in asthma. Only a few of these studies have used proteomic techniques on human tissues associated with asthma, while most research has been performed with animal models of asthma. Proteomic applications have been used as a complimentary technique to verify the suspected candidate proteins involved in asthma. In addition, novel proteins have been identified as potential therapeutic targets. Future collaboration between the different scientific disciplines using proteomic studies of animal models of asthma and confirmation of these findings in human tissues will significantly contribute to the understanding of the etiology of asthma and lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for this highly prevalent disease.Annette Osei-Kumah, Nicolette Hodyl and Vicki L. Clifto
Maternal and cord plasma cytokine and chemokine profile in pregnancies complicated by asthma
No full text© 2008 ElsevierThe mechanisms contributing to worsening of asthma during pregnancy have not been well characterized. Both asthma and pregnancy are conditions associated with a skewing of the immune response from T helper (Th) 1 toward a Th2 response. We hypothesise that worsening of asthma during pregnancy may be due to an enhanced production of circulating proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and this may be modified by the use of inhaled glucocorticoid treatment. Peripheral blood was collected from asthmatic (n = 35) and control non-asthmatic patients (n = 13) in the third trimester (30–37 weeks) of pregnancy. Fetal blood was collected from the umbilical vein of the placenta after delivery from normal (n = 24) and pregnancies complicated by asthma (n = 24). Plasma samples were assayed for IL-6, -8, eotaxin and RANTES using conventional ELISA. In addition, a range of Th1 and Th2 cytokines measured using Luminex system. There were no significant differences in the levels of maternal IL-6, IL-8, eotaxin and RANTES between asthmatics and nonasthmatics. The results of this study suggest that the presence of asthma does not result in an enhanced circulation of Th2 related cytokines and chemokines during the third trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore peripheral blood cytokine concentrations appear unaffected by inhaled glucocorticoid treatment. Cord plasma eotaxin concentrations were increased in pregnancies complicated by asthma, compared with control. This is the first study to show increased eotaxin production in the feto-placental unit of asthmatic pregnancies and may be one mechanism by which allergy susceptibility is increased in the offspring of asthmatic women.Annette Osei-Kumah, Roger Smith and Vicki L. Clifto
Asthma during pregnancy alters immune cell profile and airway epithelial chemokine release
No full textThe original publication is available at www.springerlink.comObjectivePregnancy can influence the course of maternal asthma, but the mechanisms are presently unknown. The aim of the present study was to access maternal immune cell profiles in the presence and absence of asthma and to determine the effect of pregnancy-derived factors on epithelial cell function.MethodsCells from the human bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B were treated with plasma from pregnant or nonpregnant asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects. Cell culture supernatants were collected after 24 h and assayed for IL-6, IL-8, eotaxin, RANTES and sICAM-1 protein using ELISA. Maternal immune cell count and peripheral blood chemotactic response to plasma from pregnant and non-pregnant asthmatic subjects were also assessed.ResultsThe presence of maternal asthma during pregnancy was associated with increased monocyte and neutrophil numbers, increased BEAS-2B cell production of IL-8 and sICAM-1 (P ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that circulating pregnancy-related factors enhance chemotactic mediators in epithelial cells in the presence of asthma. This may be one mechanism that contributes to pregnancy-induced changes in asthma.Annette Osei-Kumah, Peter A. B. Wark, Roger Smith and Vicki L. Clifto
Fetal glucocorticoid-regulated pathways are not affected by inhaled corticosteroid use for asthma during pregnancy
No full textRationale: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are currently advised for the control of asthma during pregnancy, despite the lack of evidence regarding potential systemic effects on maternal, placental, and fetal systems. Objectives: To determine maternal plasma concentrations of cortisol, estriol, osteocalcin, and corticotropin-releasing hormone in pregnant women with asthma (n = 156) and without asthma (n = 51). Methods: During each trimester of pregnancy, the use and dose of ICS was recorded and blood samples were collected. Ultrasound was performed at 18 and 30 weeks' gestation, and birth weight and fetal sex were recorded at delivery. Measurements and Main Results: Maternal hormone concentrations were not affected by the presence of asthma; however, they were inhibited by ICS use in a dose-dependent manner. This was dependent on fetal sex: in pregnancies with a female, ICS was inversely associated with maternal cortisol in first trimester and inversely associated with maternal osteocalcin in second and third trimester. When pregnant with a male, no effect of ICS dose was observed on maternal cortisol, estriol, or osteocalcin levels, whereas corticotropin-releasing hormone levels were increased with ICS use only in the first trimester. Conclusions: Maternal glucocorticoid-regulated systems appeared susceptible to ICS only when pregnant with a female. Fetal adrenal function appeared unaffected by ICS in pregnancies of both males and females. This provides clinically important information suggesting that ICS do not exert effects on glucocorticoid-regulated pathways in the fetus, and therefore are unlikely to contribute to adverse effects on fetal growth and development.Nicolette A. Hodyl, Michael J. Stark, Annette Osei-Kumah, Maria Bowman, Peter Gibson and Vicki L. Clifto
Placental cytokine expression covaries with maternal asthma severity and fetal sex
No full textIn the presence of maternal asthma, we have previously reported reduced placental blood flow, decreased cortisol metabolism, and reductions in fetal growth in response to maternal asthma and asthma exacerbations. We have proposed that these changes in placental function and fetal development may be related to activation of proinflammatory pathways in the placenta in response to maternal asthma. In the present study, we examined the influence of maternal asthma severity, inhaled glucocorticoid treatment, maternal cigarette use, placental macrophage numbers, and fetal sex on placental cytokine mRNA expression from a prospective cohort study of pregnant women with and without asthma. Placental expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-5 mRNA were all increased significantly in placentae of female fetuses whose mothers had mild asthma, but no changes were observed in placentae of male fetuses. The proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were negatively correlated with female cord blood cortisol, but there were no such correlations in placentae from males. Multivariate analysis indicated the strongest predictor of both cytokine mRNA expression in the placenta and birth weight was fetal cortisol but only in females. Placental cytokine mRNA levels were not significantly altered by inhaled glucocorticoid use, placental macrophage numbers, cigarette use, moderate-severe asthma, or male sex. These data suggest that placental basal cytokine mRNA expression is sex specifically regulated in pregnancies complicated by asthma, and interestingly these changes are more prevalent in mild rather than severe asthma.Naomi M. Scott, Nicolette A. Hodyl, Vanessa E. Murphy, Annette Osei-Kumah, Hayley Wyper, Deborah M. Hodgson, Roger Smith and Vicki L. Clifto
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