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- Anthoni, M, et al.
(author)
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Smad3 regulates dermal cytokine and chemokine expression and specific antibody production in murine responses to a respiratory chemical sensitizer
- 2010
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In: International archives of allergy and immunology. - : S. Karger AG. - 1423-0097 .- 1018-2438. ; 151:2, s. 155-167
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- <i>Background:</i> The cytokine transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) has important regulatory roles in the immune system. To investigate the role of intact TGF-β signaling during the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response to a respiratory allergen, we exposed Smad3–/– mice to topical trimellitic anhydride (TMA). <i>Methods:</i> CHS was induced by topical application of TMA. The swelling of the TMA-exposed ears was analyzed, and lymph node, ear tissue and skin biopsies were collected for RNA isolation, histology and histochemical analyses. Lymph node cell proliferation was measured and blood samples were collected for analysis of TMA-specific immunoglobulin. <i>Results:</i> Topical TMA exposure resulted in increased mRNA expression of proinflammatory and suppressive cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, IL-23, TGF-β), chemokines (CXCL9, CXCL10, CCL24) and chemokine receptors (CCR7, CCR8, CXCR2), increased numbers of CD3+ T cells in ear tissue, and lymphadenopathy in the Smad3–/– mice. The IL-10 result was confirmed at the protein level by immunohistochemistry. However, the ear-swelling response and infiltration of eosinophils, F4/80+ cells, CD11c+ cells and mast cells were similar in the Smad3–/– mice compared to their wild-type (WT) siblings. While TMA-specific IgE was induced equally in the WT and Smad3–/– mice, the concentration of TMA-specific IgG2a was significantly lower in the Smad3–/– mice. <i>Conclusions:</i> The Smad3 molecule contributes significantly to the regulation of the cytokine and chemokine network during the CHS response to TMA. The lack of Smad3 resulted in a potent Th2 shift, confirmed by strongly impaired IgG2a levels.
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- Gaillard, Marie-José, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Holocene land-cover reconstructions for studies on land cover-climate feedbacks
- 2010
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 6, s. 483-499
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The major objectives of this paper are: (1) to review the pros and cons of the scenarios of past anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) developed during the last ten years, (2) to discuss issues related to pollen-based reconstruction of the past land-cover and introduce a new method, REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites), to infer long-term records of past land-cover from pollen data, (3) to present a new project (LANDCLIM: LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) currently underway, and show preliminary results of REVEALS reconstructions of the regional land-cover in the Czech Republic for five selected time windows of the Holocene, and (4) to discuss the implications and future directions in climate and vegetation/land-cover modeling, and in the assessment of the effects of human-induced changes in land-cover on the regional climate through altered feedbacks. The existing ALCC scenarios show large discrepancies between them, and few cover time periods older than AD 800. When these scenarios are used to assess the impact of human land-use on climate, contrasting results are obtained. It emphasizes the need for methods such as the REVEALS model-based land-cover reconstructions. They might help to fine-tune descriptions of past land-cover and lead to a better understanding of how long-term changes in ALCC might have influenced climate. The REVEALS model is demonstrated to provide better estimates of the regional vegetation/landcover changes than the traditional use of pollen percentages. This will achieve a robust assessment of land cover at regional- to continental-spatial scale throughout the Holocene. We present maps of REVEALS estimates for the percentage cover of 10 plant functional types (PFTs) at 200 BP and 6000 BP, and of the two open-land PFTs “grassland” and “agricultural land” at five time-windows from 6000 BP to recent time. The LANDCLIM results are expected to provide crucial data to reassess ALCC estimates for a better understanding of the land suface-atmosphere interactions.
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