Asthma

Asthma has rapidly become one of the most common chronic illnesses of the Western world, and its prevalence continues to rise, with the proportion of patients with more severe diseases also increasing. Faced with this problem, more researchers are focusing on the causes, mechanisms, and pathophysiology of asthma. The major hopes are that more effective drugs will become available and that preventive measures can be instituted. Increasingly, molecular and cell bi- ogy approaches are being used to characterize and understand the mechanisms of the inflammatory process that is typical of the asthmatic airway. This volume on Asthma: Mechanisms and Protocols in the Methods in Molecular Medicineseries provides an overview of the molecular mechanisms involved in asthma by p- viding extensive protocols that are being used in asthma research. Briefly, it c- ers details of methods for obtaining cells from the airways, analysis of gene and protein expression in the limited clinical samples from asthmatic airways, use of molecular and cellular tools for studying cytokine expression and release, studies of asthma-related genes and genetic polymorphisms, and understanding the - fects of asthma treatments. With such coverage, the volume ties in several dis- plines, including allergy and immunology, cell biology, pharmacology, and histology. We have continued in the spirit of the series to provide a bench book for day-to-day use.

Asthma: Application of Cell and Molecular Biology Techniques to Unravel Causes and Pathophysiological Mechanisms, K. Fan Chung and Ian Adcock. Culture of Normal Human Airway Epithelial Cells and Measurement of Mucin Synthesis and Secretion, Reen Wu. Brush Biopsy and Culture of Airway Epithelial Cells: b-Adrenoceptor System Function, Steven G. Kelsen, David Ciccolella, and Kathleen Brennan. Isolation and Characterization of Human Airway Fibroblasts in Culture, Jamila Chakir, Jean Dubé, Michel Laviolette, Francine Goulet, Lucie Germain, François Auger, and Louis-Phillipe Boulet. Flow Cytometric Analysis of Blood Monocytes and Alveolar Macrophages, Marcia L. Taylor and Bruce S. Bochne. Expression of Interleukin-10 and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor in Blood Monocytes and Alveolar Macrophages, Matthias John and Sam Lim. Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activation in Eosinophils, Patricia M. de Souza, Hannu Kankaaranta, Mark A. Giembycz, and Mark A. Lindsay. Human Eosinophil Isolation and the Measurement of Apoptosis, Hannu Kankaaranta, Patricia M. de Souza, Mark A. Giembycz, and Mark A. Lindsay. Adhesion of T-Cells to Airway Smooth Muscle Cells, Aili L. Lazaar and Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr. Proliferation of Circulating T-Lymphocytes, Mark Larché. Differential Display Analysis of Airway Epithelial Inflammatory Genes, Lisa M. Schwiebert. Analysis of Transcription Factor Activation: NFkB as a Regulator of Inflammatory Genes in Epithelial Cells, Robert Newton and Ian M. Adcock. Transient Transgenic Approaches for Investigating the Role of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor in Pulmonary Inflammation and Immune Diseases, Zhou Xing, Martin Stämpfli, and Jack Gauldie. Quantitative Analysis of RANTES mRNA in Endobronchial Biopsies Using Polymerase Chain Reaction, Neville Berkman. Intracellular Cytokine Staining for Analysis by Flow Cytometry, Anthony J. Frew, Jacqueline Madden, and Petros Bakakos. Localization of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA by In SituHybridization in Bronchial Biopsies, Yutaka Nakamura, Pota Christodoulopoulos, and Qutayba Hamid. Immunohistochemical Analysis of Adhesion Molecules in Airway Biopsies, Susan J. Wilson and Stephen T. Holgate. Site-Directed Mutagenesis in Investigation of b-Adrenoreceptor Exosite, Stuart A. Green. Methods for Determining b2-Adrenoreceptor Genotype, Jane C. Dewar, Amanda P. Wheatley, and Ian P. Hall. Modulation of b-Adrenoceptor Expression, Judith C. W. Mak. Chemical Mutational Analysis of Glucocorticoid Receptor in Bronchial Asthma, Stephen J. Lane and Tak H. Lee. Histone Acetylation and Histone Deacetylation, Kazuhiro Ito, Peter J. Barnes, and Ian M. Adcock. Genome-Wide Search for Asthma Genes, Adel H. Mansur and John F. J. Morrison. Index.