Abstract
Asthma is associated with structural remodelling processes, including basement membrane thickening, increased vascularity and smooth muscle alterations. It is known that respiratory infections are associated with asthma exacerbation; infections can worsen asthma symptoms and influence susceptibility to asthma onset. How infections affect asthma is not fully elucidated. It is possible that the immune response, due to recurrent infections, leads to the pathogen's eradication but also increases bronchial inflammation, which induces airway remodelling in asthmatic subjects. We evaluated how infection affects lung remodelling and inflammatory responses and assessed the impact of antibiotic treatment in a murine model of asthma. Ovalbumin-sensitised BALB/c mice were divided into control, mild and chronic asthmatics. A subset of animals in each group was infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and was treated with antibiotics. The results show an increase in key lung remodelling factors in mice with chronic asthma, particularly those infected with S. pneumoniae. Notably, antibiotic therapy attenuated these effects. These findings demonstrate for the first time that prompt antibiotic therapy may be useful to reduce lung remodelling progression in infected asthmatic subjects.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 442-450 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Antibiotics
- Lung remodelling
- Respiratory infections
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Antibiotics counteract the worsening of airway remodelling induced by infections in asthma. / Lucini, Valeria; Ciracì, Rocco; Dugnani, Silvana; Pannacci, Marilou; Pisati, Federica; Caronno, Alessia; Tirone, Giampaolo; Scaglione, Francesco.
In: International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, Vol. 43, No. 5, 2014, p. 442-450.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Antibiotics counteract the worsening of airway remodelling induced by infections in asthma
AU - Lucini, Valeria
AU - Ciracì, Rocco
AU - Dugnani, Silvana
AU - Pannacci, Marilou
AU - Pisati, Federica
AU - Caronno, Alessia
AU - Tirone, Giampaolo
AU - Scaglione, Francesco
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Asthma is associated with structural remodelling processes, including basement membrane thickening, increased vascularity and smooth muscle alterations. It is known that respiratory infections are associated with asthma exacerbation; infections can worsen asthma symptoms and influence susceptibility to asthma onset. How infections affect asthma is not fully elucidated. It is possible that the immune response, due to recurrent infections, leads to the pathogen's eradication but also increases bronchial inflammation, which induces airway remodelling in asthmatic subjects. We evaluated how infection affects lung remodelling and inflammatory responses and assessed the impact of antibiotic treatment in a murine model of asthma. Ovalbumin-sensitised BALB/c mice were divided into control, mild and chronic asthmatics. A subset of animals in each group was infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and was treated with antibiotics. The results show an increase in key lung remodelling factors in mice with chronic asthma, particularly those infected with S. pneumoniae. Notably, antibiotic therapy attenuated these effects. These findings demonstrate for the first time that prompt antibiotic therapy may be useful to reduce lung remodelling progression in infected asthmatic subjects.
AB - Asthma is associated with structural remodelling processes, including basement membrane thickening, increased vascularity and smooth muscle alterations. It is known that respiratory infections are associated with asthma exacerbation; infections can worsen asthma symptoms and influence susceptibility to asthma onset. How infections affect asthma is not fully elucidated. It is possible that the immune response, due to recurrent infections, leads to the pathogen's eradication but also increases bronchial inflammation, which induces airway remodelling in asthmatic subjects. We evaluated how infection affects lung remodelling and inflammatory responses and assessed the impact of antibiotic treatment in a murine model of asthma. Ovalbumin-sensitised BALB/c mice were divided into control, mild and chronic asthmatics. A subset of animals in each group was infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and was treated with antibiotics. The results show an increase in key lung remodelling factors in mice with chronic asthma, particularly those infected with S. pneumoniae. Notably, antibiotic therapy attenuated these effects. These findings demonstrate for the first time that prompt antibiotic therapy may be useful to reduce lung remodelling progression in infected asthmatic subjects.
KW - Antibiotics
KW - Lung remodelling
KW - Respiratory infections
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84899543411&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84899543411&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2014.02.005
DO - 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2014.02.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 24698123
AN - SCOPUS:84899543411
VL - 43
SP - 442
EP - 450
JO - International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
JF - International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
SN - 0924-8579
IS - 5
ER -