Mechanisms of AllergySignal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT-6) expression and function in asthmatic bronchial epithelium☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
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STAT-6 expression in human airways
To investigate whether STAT-6 was a likely mediator of IL-4 and IL-13 responses in human airway mucosa, immunohistochemistry was used to determine the presence of STAT-6 in bronchial biopsy specimens of normal and asthmatic subjects. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the ciliated columnar cells of the bronchial epithelium to be the major site of STAT-6 expression, mucus secreting goblet cells also showing prominent positive immunoreactivity around the nuclear region (Fig 1, A-C ).
Discussion
These studies have demonstrated for the first time that the expression of STAT-6 in the bronchial epithelium is higher in subjects with severe asthma than in subjects with mild asthma or normal controls. STAT-6 thus joins a variety of other transcription factors, including STAT-1,22 NFκB,23 and AP-1,24 whose levels and activity are upregulated in the asthmatic bronchial epithelium. The activity of each of these transcription factors is likely to make a substantial contribution to the
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Supported by an AstraZeneca studentship provided to R.E.M., by the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, and by the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom.
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Reprint requests: Donna E. Davies, PhD, Division of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, United Kingdom.