Role of IL-17 in LPS-induced acute lung injury: an in vivo study.

To assess the clinical significance of IL-17 in patients with sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and to investigate the effects of IL-17 blocking in a mouse model of acute lung injury (ALI). Significantly increased IL-17 level was found in patients with sepsis-related ARDS compared to healthy controls, whereas significantly increased plasma IL-17 level was also observed in non-survivors compared to that in survivors. According to the data from the mouse ALI model, we found significantly increased IL-17 level in lung tissue lysates, mouse bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (mBALF) and plasma at 6, 12 and 24 h after ALI. Histological analyses revealed that reduced sign of pathological changes and lung injury score in the lungs at 48 h after IL-17 blocking antibody administration. Reduced level of proinflammatory tumor necrosis factor α and increased level of anti-inflammatory factor interleukin-10 were found in both mBALF and plasma. Moreover, IL-17 blocking antibody administration attenuated the expression of RORγt and activity of PI3K-Akt pathway. Increased IL-17 was presented in patients with sepsis-induced ARDS and IL-17 may serve as a biomarker to indicate the severity of ARDS. Moreover, IL-17 antibody administration could relieve the ALI symptom by affecting RORγt level and PI3K pathway.

Rapid response in a critical lung adenocarcinoma presenting as large airway stenoses after receiving stent implantation and sequential rebiopsy guided ALK inhibitor therapy: a case report.

Airway stent implantation can improve the symptoms of airway stenosis caused by a malignant tumor immediately. However, stent implantation is only a palliative therapy and disease will quickly progress without subsequent treatment. Targeted therapy can provide accurate etiological treatment for patients with critical lung cancer who cannot receive chemotherapies. In our clinic, we encountered a 50-year-old male presenting with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma. He failed both the first-line and second-line chemotherapies and suffered severe complex left and right main bronchial stenoses caused by tumor invasion. An emergency stent was implanted to relieve dyspnea symptoms. At nearly the same time, he was detected to have an ALK gene fusion mutation upon rebiopsy and subsequently began crizotinib therapy. A short time later his obstructed airway returned to normal and lesions in the lung were miraculously reduced. This case indicates that the combination of stent implantation and real-time rebiopsy guided targeted therapy brings a new hope for patients with critical lung cancer.