title: Inflammatory airway features and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in asthmatic rats combined with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bronchial asthma (BA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are both inflammatory airway diseases with different characteristics. However, there are many patients who suffer from both BA and COPD. This study was to evaluate changes of inflammatory airway features and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in asthmatic rats combined with COPD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Brown Norway (BN) rats were used to model the inflammatory airway diseases of BA, COPD and COPD + BA. These three models were compared and evaluated with respect to clinical symptoms, pulmonary histopathology, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammatory cytokines and HPA axis function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The inflammatory airway features and HPA axis function in rats in the COPD + BA model group were greatly influenced. Rats in this model group showed features of the inflammatory diseases BA and COPD. The expression of inflammatory cytokines in this model group might be up or downregulated when both disease processes are present. The levels of corticotrophin releasing hormone mRNA and corticosterone in this model group were both significantly decreased than those in the control group (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BN rat can be used as an animal model of COPD + BA. By evaluating this animal model we found that the features of inflammation in rats in this model group seem to be exaggerated. The HPA axis functions in rats in this model group have been disturbed or impaired, which is prominent at the hypothalamic level.
authors.affiliation: Lab of Integrative Medicine for Lung, Inflammation and Cancers, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China.
authors.forename: Cui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Hong-Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing-Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: Jing-Cheng
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Chang-Qing
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Bao-Jun
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jin-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xiao-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Yu-Xue
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000473:pathology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000473:pathology*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN
chemical_list: D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone