Papers by Serafino Antonio Marsico
European Respiratory Journal, Sep 1, 2011
A twenty-one year old female with a history of recurrent pneumonia and airway infections since in... more A twenty-one year old female with a history of recurrent pneumonia and airway infections since infancy, chronic cough, gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and persistent allergic rhinitis was referred to our asthmatic centre. She exhibited a normal sweat test, skin prick test positive to common allergens, and gastroscopy showing hiatal hernia and reflux esophagitis. We performed spirometry for the first time. The flow-volume curve showed a plateau of forced expiratory flow suggesting a variable intrathoracic airway obstruction. We then carried out bronchoscopy that showed a compression of the distal trachea. A computed tomography angiogram revealed a vascular ring consisting of a double aortic arch with right-arch dominance compressing the trachea and esophagus. Echocardiography confirmed the presence of the vascular ring. The patient has been referred for surgery. This report underscores the importance of spirometry and the analysis of the flow-volume curve morphology in the evaluation of patients with respiratory symptoms.
Biochemical Pharmacology, 2001
Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) play a central role in signal transduction by regulating... more Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) play a central role in signal transduction by regulating many nuclear transcription factors involved in inflammatory, immune, and proliferative responses. The aim of this study was to investigate, in human pulmonary endothelial cells, the effects of synthetic glucocorticosteroids on activation of c-jun N-terminal kinases, extracellular signal-regulated kinases, and p38 subgroups of the MAPK family. Human microvascular endothelial cells from lung were stimulated for 2 h with either H 2 O 2 (2 mM), IL-1 (10 ng/mL), or tumour necrosis factor-␣ (10 ng/mL). Under these conditions, a remarkable increase in the phosphorylation pattern of c-jun N-terminal kinases, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2, and p38 was detected. Pretreatment for 12 h with dexamethasone (100 nM) was able to prevent phosphorylation-dependent MAPK activation in stimulated cells, without substantially affecting the expression levels of these enzymes. Our results suggest that inhibition of MAPK signaling pathways in human pulmonary endothelial cells may significantly contribute, by interfering with activation of several different transcription factors, to the antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive effects of glucocorticosteroids.
Journal of Asthma and Allergy, 2011
Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody recently approved for the treatment of sev... more Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody recently approved for the treatment of severe allergic asthma. This drug inhibits allergic responses by binding to serum IgE, thus preventing interaction with cellular IgE receptors. Omalizumab is also capable of downregulating the expression of high affinity IgE receptors on inflammatory cells, as well as the numbers of eosinophils in both blood and induced sputum. The clinical effects of omalizumab include improvements in respiratory symptoms and quality of life, paralleled by a reduction of asthma exacerbations, emergency room visits, and use of systemic corticosteroids and rescue bronchodilators. Omalizumab is relatively well-tolerated, and only rarely induces anaphylactic reactions. Therefore, this drug represents a valid option as add-on therapy for patients with severe persistent allergic asthma inadequately controlled by high doses of standard inhaled treatments.
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Papers by Serafino Antonio Marsico