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- Fuchs, B, et al.
(author)
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Mast cell engraftment of the peripheral lung enhances airway hyperresponsiveness in a mouse asthma model
- 2012
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In: American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 1522-1504 .- 1040-0605. ; 303:12, s. L1027-L1036
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease, characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammation, and tissue remodeling, in which mast cells play a central role. In the present study, we analyzed how mast cell numbers and localization influence the AHR in a chronic murine model of asthma. C57BL/6 (wild-type) and mast cell-deficient B6.Cg- KitW−shmice without (Wsh) and with (Wsh+MC) mast cell engraftment were sensitized to and subsequently challenged with ovalbumin for a 91-day period. In wild-type mice, pulmonary mast cells were localized in the submucosa of the central airways, whereas the more abundant mast cells in Wsh+MC mice were found mainly in the alveolar parenchyma. In Wsh+MC, ovalbumin challenge induced a relocation of mast cells from the perivascular space and central airways to the parenchyma. Allergen challenge caused a similar AHR in wild-type and Wsh mice in the resistance of the airways and the pulmonary tissue. In Wsh+MC mice the AHR was more pronounced. The elevated functional responses were partly related to the numbers and localization of connective tissue-type mast cells in the peripheral pulmonary compartments. A mast cell-dependent increase in IgE and IL-33 together with impairment of the IL-23/IL-17 axis was evoked in Wsh and Wsh+MC mice by allergen challenge. This study shows that within the same chronic murine asthma model the development of AHR can be both dependent and independent of mast cells. Moreover, the spatial distribution and number of pulmonary mast cells determine severity and localization of the AHR.
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- Mwansasu, Simon L. A., 1961-, et al.
(author)
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Biofuel potential and land availability : The case of Rufiji District, Tanzania
- 2014
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In: Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment. - : Academic Journals. - 2006-9847. ; 6:11, s. 389-397
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Africa’s attractiveness to potential biofuel investors is based on the assumption that there is plenty of unused land available for investment in different countries of the continent. However, their postulations are not based on any concrete studies about land availability at country, regional or local level. This study investigates land availability for potential biofuel investment at the local level, using Rufiji district in Tanzania as a case study. We have analyzed different land cover/land use types and separated them into areas of potential biofuel investment and areas where biofuel investment is not possible by a process of elimination. The results suggest that land availability is inadequate to meet the needs of biofuel investors. The land assumed to be unused or underutilized by biofuel investors is either part of the fallow system or used to harvest natural resources and for other traditional uses. Expropriating the assumed idle land will adversely impact on the livelihoods of the local communities.
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