Eosinophilia is a prominent feature of the cellular response in allergic and parasitic diseases. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis due to colonization of the lungs of some asthmatics with Aspergillusfumigatus is characterized by high levels of serum immunoglobulin E and peripheral blood (PB) and lung eosinophilia. This study investigates the role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis by using a mouse model. BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally and intraperitoneally with A. fumigatus antigens (Ag), and the eosinophils in PB and bone marrow (BM) were enumerated. Eosinophilopoiesis in BM cultures was studied in the presence of murine recombinant interleukin-5 (mrIL-5) and supernatants from pokeweed mitogen-stimulated spleen cells as the source of eosinophil differentiation factors. Eosinophils were quantitated by direct counting and by estimating eosinophil peroxidase activity. The results indicate that the percentage of eosinophils in the PB (5.77 ± 1.17) and the BM (11.19 + 4.31) of mice exposed to A. fumigatus Ag was higher than in controls (PB, 2.42 ± 0.76; BM, 5.12 + 2.79; P < 0.01 for both). Similarly, a significant increase in eosinophils was observed in the BM population from mice exposed to A. fumigatus Ag compared with that in controls when cultured with murine recombinant interleukin-5 (23.13 + 7.14 versus 13.77 ± 5.79, P < 0.01), indicating that the mice exposed to A. fumigatus Ag had significantly greater numbers of eosinophil precursors in their BM. This study demonstrates that A. fumigatus Ag may be involved in the in vivo commitment of stem cells in the eosinophil differentiation pathway.
The aim of this work was to estimate absorbed doses received by a victim of the radiation accident with a 60Co source in Henan province, China. With a Monte Carlo stochastic simulation method, an estimation method for doses to the radiation accident victim was made. It utilised a mathematical model of adult man (MIRD) and a relative applied computer program was developed. By means of the simulated conditions of the accident, the absorbed doses to the victim's main organ and total body doses were estimated. The results estimated by our Monte Carlo method are close to those of experimental simulation measurement of the accident. With its convenience and rapidity, this method will be valuable for radiation dose reconstruction for victims in radiation accidents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.