title: Up-regulation of CD44 expression by interleukin-13 in a murine model of asthma.
abstract: Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the infiltration of inflammatory cells, the elevated production of cytokines and enhanced airway hyperreactivity (AHR). CD44 is a widely expressed cell adhesion molecule that is involved in lymphocyte adhesion to inflamed endothelium. Previous studies showed that pulmonary eosinophils and CD4⁺ T cells express high levels of CD44 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid following antigen administration. The aim of this study was to investigate whether interleukin (IL)-13 is capable of modulating CD44 expression in lung tissue and lymphocytes, further promoting inflammatory cell recruitment into the lungs and exacerbating asthmatic responses. Six- to eight-week-old male Balb/c mice were used. Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry were employed to determine the effect on CD44 expression. Our findings showed that IL-13 may play a significant role during the challenge phase in that CD44 expression was up-regulated in lung tissue and lymphocytes following IL-13 treatment, resulting in inflammatory cells infiltrating into lungs and enhancing AHR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Nangang, Harbin 150001, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000494:pharmacology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D018793:Interleukin-13; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010047:Ovalbumin