SNAPSHOT USA 2021: A third coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States.

SNAPSHOT USA is a multicontributor, long-term camera trap survey designed to survey mammals across the United States. Participants are recruited through community networks and directly through a website application (https://www.snapshot-usa.org/). The growing Snapshot dataset is useful, for example, for tracking wildlife population responses to land use, land cover, and climate changes across spatial and temporal scales. Here we present the SNAPSHOT USA 2021 dataset, the third national camera trap survey across the US. Data were collected across 109 camera trap arrays and included 1711 camera sites. The total effort equaled 71,519 camera trap nights and resulted in 172,507 sequences of animal observations. Sampling effort varied among camera trap arrays, with a minimum of 126 camera trap nights, a maximum of 3355 nights, a median 546 nights, and a mean 656 ± 431 nights. This third dataset comprises 51 camera trap arrays that were surveyed during 2019, 2020, and 2021, along with 71 camera trap arrays that were surveyed in 2020 and 2021. All raw data and accompanying metadata are stored on Wildlife Insights (https://www.wildlifeinsights.org/), and are publicly available upon acceptance of the data papers. SNAPSHOT USA aims to sample multiple ecoregions in the United States with adequate representation of each ecoregion according to its relative size. Currently, the relative density of camera trap arrays varies by an order of magnitude for the various ecoregions (0.22-5.9 arrays per 100,000 km2), emphasizing the need to increase sampling effort by further recruiting and retaining contributors. There are no copyright restrictions on these data. We request that authors cite this paper when using these data, or a subset of these data, for publication. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

Increased density of intraepithelial mast cells in patients with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction regulated through epithelially derived thymic stromal lymphopoietin and IL-33.

BACKGROUND: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is a prototypical feature of indirect airway hyperresponsiveness. Mast cells are implicated in EIB, but the characteristics, regulation, and function of mast cells in patients with EIB are poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine mast cell infiltration of the airway epithelium in patients with EIB and the regulation of mast cell phenotype and function by epithelially derived cytokines. METHODS: Endobronchial biopsy specimens, epithelial brushings, and induced sputum were obtained from asthmatic patients with and without EIB and healthy control subjects. Mast cell proteases were quantified by using quantitative PCR, and mast cell density was quantified by using design-based stereology. Airway epithelial responses to wounding and osmotic stress were assessed in primary airway epithelial cells and ex vivo murine lung tissue. Mast cell granule development and function were examined in cord blood-derived mast cells. RESULTS: Tryptase and carboxypeptidase A3 expression in epithelial brushings and epithelial mast cell density were selectively increased in the asthma group with EIB. An in vitro scratch wound initiated the release of thymic stromal lymphopoietin, which was greater in epithelial cells derived from asthmatic patients. Osmotic stress induced the release of IL-33 from explanted murine lungs, which was increased in allergen-treated mice. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin combined with IL-33 increased tryptase and carboxypeptidase A3 immunostaining in mast cell precursors and selectively increased cysteinyl leukotriene formation by mast cells in a manner that was independent of in vitro sensitization. CONCLUSIONS: Mast cell infiltration of the epithelium is a critical determinant of indirect airway hyperresponsiveness, and the airway epithelium might serve as an important regulator of the development and function of this mast cell population.

Regulation and function of epithelial secreted phospholipase A2 group X in asthma.

RATIONALE: Indirect airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a fundamental feature of asthma that is manifest as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). Secreted phospholipase A2 group X (sPLA2-X) plays a key role in regulating eicosanoid formation and the development of inflammation and AHR in murine models. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine sPLA2-X in the airway epithelium and airway wall of patients with asthma, the relationship to AHR in humans, and the regulation and function of sPLA2-X within the epithelium. METHODS: We precisely phenotyped 34 patients with asthma (19 with and 15 without EIB) and 10 normal control subjects to examine in vivo differences in epithelial gene expression, quantitative morphometry of endobronchial biopsies, and levels of secreted protein. The regulation of sPLA2-X gene (PLA2G10) expression was examined in primary airway epithelial cell cultures. The function of epithelial sPLA2-X in eicosanoid formation was examined using PLA2 inhibitors and murine tracheal epithelial cells with Pla2g10 deletion. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We found that sPLA2-X protein is increased in the airways of patients with asthma and that epithelial-derived sPLA2-X may be increased in association with indirect AHR. The expression of sPLA2-X increases during in vitro epithelial differentiation; is regulated by inflammatory signals including tumor necrosis factor, IL-13, and IL-17; and is both secreted from the epithelium and directly participates in the release of arachidonic acid by epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data reveal a relationship between epithelial-derived sPLA2-X and indirect AHR in asthma and that sPLA2-X serves as an epithelial regulator of inflammatory eicosanoid formation. Therapies targeting epithelial sPLA2-X may be useful in asthma.