ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the important role of bronchial provocation test with hypertonic saline and induced sputum in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic nonproductive cough by assessing its feasibility and the side effects which may occur during the procedure.Methods The diagnosis procedure was based on the anatomical protocol for diagnosing chronic nonproductive cough,howerer,hypertonic saline bronchial provocation test and induced sputum were conducted for unconfirmed 38 pafients who suffered chronic congh.Results 23(23/38,60.5%)patients with airway hyperresponsiveness,the forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1)was decreased 27%?5.8)%,Side effects occurred in 3 patients(3/38,7.8%).Appropriate sputum samples were obtained after hypertonic saline challeng,The percentage of eosinophi1 counts in induced sputum was high in 24 patients(24/38,63.2%),including cough variant asthma(CVA)(17/23,73.9%)and eosinophilic bronchitis(EB)(7/38,18.4%).After treatment,the percentage of eosinophi1 counts in induced sputum of patients was significantly reduced in CVA and EB.Conclusion Bronchial provocation test with hypertonic saline and induced sputum were an effective method for diagnosing chronic nonproductive cough and little side effects occurred during the procedure.
ABSTRACT
The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain(NOD)proteins are recently identified as cytosolic pattern recognition receptors located on innate immune and epithelial cells,and recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns.The NOD1 and NOD2,the two members of NOD protein family,have important roles in innate immunity as sensors of microbial components derived from bacterial peptidoglycan.Besides,NOD proteins have been established as key regulators of cell death and cytokine production,they also have been shown to participate in the pathogeny of allergic disease such as asthma.This review will focus on the identification and functional characterization of NOD proteins,as well as their role in lung diseases.