Leukotriene B4 release by human lung macrophages via receptor- not voltage-operated Ca2+ channels

Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients Increases Neutrophil Chemotaxis Measured by a Microfluidic Platform

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a persistent and progressive respiratory disorder characterized by expiratory airflow limitation caused by chronic inflammation. Evidence has shown that COPD is correlated with neutrophil chemotaxis towards the airways, resulting in neutrophilic airway inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate neutrophil chemotaxis in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from COPD patients using a high-throughput nine-unit microfluidic platform and explore the possible correlations between neutrophil migratory dynamics and COPD development. The results showed that BALF from COPD patients induced stronger neutrophil chemotaxis than the Control BALF. Our results also showed that the chemotactic migration of neutrophils isolated from the blood of COPD patients was not significantly different from neutrophils from healthy controls, and neutrophil migration in three known chemoattractants (fMLP, IL-8, and LTB4) was not affected by glucocorticoid treatment. Moreover, comparison with clinical data showed a trend of a negative relationship between neutrophil migration chemotactic index (C. I.) in COPD BALF and patient's spirometry data, suggesting a potential correlation between neutrophil migration and the severity of COPD. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of using the microfluidic platform to assess neutrophil chemotaxis in COPD pathogenesis, and it may serve as a potential marker for COPD evaluation in the future.

Connections between Immune-Derived Mediators and Sensory Nerves for Itch Sensation

Although histamine is a well-known itch mediator, histamine H1-receptor blockers often lack efficacy in chronic itch. Recent molecular and cellular based studies have shown that non-histaminergic mediators, such as proteases, neuropeptides and cytokines, along with their cognate receptors, are involved in evocation and modulation of itch sensation. Many of these molecules are produced and secreted by immune cells, which act on sensory nerve fibers distributed in the skin to cause itching and sensitization. This understanding of the connections between immune cell-derived mediators and sensory nerve fibers has led to the development of new treatments for itch. This review summarizes current knowledge of immune cell-derived itch mediators and neuronal response mechanisms, and discusses therapeutic agents that target these systems.

Quantitation of leukotriene B(4) in human sputum as a biomarker using UPLC-MS/MS

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a potent mediator of inflammation and has been recognized as an important target for therapeutic intervention for treatment of diseases such as asthma. In the current work, a highly selective and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS assay was developed for quantitation of LTB4 in human sputum as a biomarker for LTB4 biosynthesis inhibition. A fit-for-purpose strategy for method development, assay qualification, and study support was adopted for this biomarker project. A surrogate matrix (protein buffer) was used for preparation of calibration samples and certain levels of quality control (QC) samples to avoid interference from endogenous analyte, while the low QC was prepared in authentic matrix, human sputum. The analytical methodology utilized a liquid-liquid extraction procedure in 96-well plate format. Chromatographic separation was achieved with a reversed-phase ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UPLC) column using gradient elution, and the run time was 4.5min per sample. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 0.2ng/mL, and the calibration curve range was 0.2-20ng/mL. Acceptable accuracy, precision, linearity, specificity, recovery, and matrix effect was obtained. Bench-top stability (6h), freeze-thaw stability (3 cycles at -20°C), and autosampler stability (97h at ambient temperature) all met acceptance criteria. Frozen long-term stability for 166 days at -20°C in sputum did not meet acceptance criteria by showing only ≥75% of nominal concentration and the information was taken into consideration for study support. Two important observations in the current work were: (1) LTB4 was unstable in sputum in the presence of liquification reagent dithiothreitol (DTT). Therefore, a non-DTT treatment method for sputum processing was developed and applied to the bioanalytical assay and clinical study support; and (2) chromatographic separation of LTB4 from its three non-enzymatically derived isomers, i.e. 6-trans-LTB4, 12-epi-LTB4, and 6-trans-12-epi-LTB4, was achieved. This assay was successfully applied to a Phase II clinical study for proof-of-concept of a LTA4 hydrolase inhibitor for treatment of asthma.

TRP channels: emerging targets for respiratory disease

The mammalian transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily of cation channels is divided into six subfamilies based on sequence homology TRPC (canonical), TRPV (vanilloid), TRPM (melastatin), TRPA (ankyrin), TRPP (polycystin) and TRPML (mucolipin). The expression of these channels is especially abundant in sensory nerves, and there is increasing evidence demonstrating their existence in a broad range of cell types which are thought to play a key role in respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These ion channels can be activated by a diverse range of chemical and physical stimuli. Physical stimuli include temperature, membrane potential changes and osmotic stress, and some of the more well known chemical stimuli include capsaicin (TRPV1), menthol (TRPM8) and acrolein (TRPA1). There is increasing evidence in this rapidly moving field to suggest that selective blockers of these channels may represent attractive novel strategies to treat characteristic features of respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD. This review focuses on summarising the evidence that modulation of selected TRP channels may have beneficial effects at targeting key features of these respiratory diseases including airways inflammation, airways hyper-reactivity, mucus secretion and cough.