Real-time assessment of inflammation and treatment response in a mouse model of allergic airway inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Eosinophils are multifunctional leukocytes that degrade and remodel tissue extracellular matrix through production of proteolytic enzymes, release of proinflammatory factors to initiate and propagate inflammatory responses, and direct activation of mucus secretion and smooth muscle cell constriction. Thus, eosinophils are central effector cells during allergic airway inflammation and an important clinical therapeutic target. Here we describe the use of an injectable MMP-targeted optical sensor that specifically and quantitatively resolves eosinophil activity in the lungs of mice with experimental allergic airway inflammation. Through the use of real-time molecular imaging methods, we report the visualization of eosinophil responses in vivo and at different scales. Eosinophil responses were

SUBMITTER: Cortez-Retamozo V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2579705 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature