No abstract

The relative contribution of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptors (IP(3)Rs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) to agonist-induced Ca(2+) signaling in mouse airway smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was investigated in lung slices with phase-contrast or laser scanning microscopy. At room temperature (RT), methacholine (MCh) or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) induced Ca(2+) oscillations and an associated contraction in small airway SMCs. The subsequent exposure to an IP(3)R antagonist, 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), inhibited the Ca(2+) oscillations and induced airway relaxation in a concentration-dependent manner. 2-APB also inhibited Ca(2+) waves generated by the photolytic release of IP(3). However, the RyR antagonist ryanodine had no significant effect, at any concentration, on airway contraction or agonist- or IP(3)-induced Ca(2+) oscillations or Ca(2+) wave propagation. By contrast, a second RyR antagonist, tetracaine, relaxed agonist-contracted airways and inhibited agonist-induced Ca(2+) oscillations in a concentration-dependent manner. However, tetracaine did not affect IP(3)-induced Ca(2+) release or wave propagation nor the Ca(2+) content of SMC Ca(2+) stores as evaluated by Ca(2+)-release induced by caffeine. Conversely, both ryanodine and tetracaine completely blocked agonist-independent slow Ca(2+) oscillations induced by KCl. The inhibitory effects of 2-APB and absence of an effect of ryanodine on MCh-induced airway contraction or Ca(2+) oscillations of SMCs were also observed at 37 degrees C. In Ca(2+)-permeable SMCs, tetracaine inhibited agonist-induced contraction without affecting intracellular Ca(2+) levels indicating that relaxation also resulted from a reduction in Ca(2+) sensitivity. These results indicate that agonist-induced Ca(2+) oscillations in mouse small airway SMCs are primary mediated via IP(3)Rs and that tetracaine induces relaxation by both decreasing Ca(2+) sensitivity and inhibiting agonist-induced Ca(2+) oscillations via an IP(3)-dependent mechanism.

We study the characteristic time scales of the fluctuating local moments in Hund's metal systems for different degrees of correlation. By analyzing the dynamical spin susceptibility in the real-time domain via the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we determine the time scales controlling oscillation and damping of on-site fluctuations -a crucial factor for the detection of local moments with different experimental probes. We apply this procedure to realistic many-body calculations of different families of iron-pnictides and chalcogenides, explaining the material-specific trend in the discrepancies reported between experimental and theoretical estimates of the magnetic moments.

We theoretically investigate the d 4 (Cr 2+ ) compound BaCr2As2 and show that, despite nonnegligible differences in the electronic structure, its many-body physics mirrors that of BaFe2As2, which has instead a d 6 (Fe 2+ ) configuration. This reflects a symmetry of the electron correlation effects around the half-filled d 5 Mott insulating state. The experimentally known metallic antiferromagnetic phase is correctly modeled by dynamical mean-field theory, and for realistic values of the interaction it shows a moderate mass enhancement of order ∼2. This value decreases if the ordered moment grows as a result of a stronger interaction. The antiferromagnetic phase diagram for this d 4 shows similarities with that calculated for the d 6 systems. Correspondingly, in the paramagnetic phase the influence of the half-filled Mott insulator shows up as a crossover from a weakly correlated to an orbitally differentiated "Hund's metal" phase which reflects an analogous phenomenon in d 6 iron compounds including a strong enhancement of the compressibility in a zone just inside the frontier between the normal and the Hund's metal. The experimental evidence and our theoretical description place BaCr2As2 at interaction strength slightly below the crossover which implies that negative pressures and/or electron doping (e.g. Cr → Mn,Fe or Ba → Sc,Y,La) might strongly enhance the compressibility, thereby possibly inducing a pairing instability in this non-superconducting compound.

BackgroundInterleukin-22 (IL-22) is involved in lung diseases such as pneumonia, asthma and lung cancer. Lavage mirrors the local environment, and may provide insights into the presence and role of IL-22 in patients.MethodsBronchoscopic lavage (BL) samples (n = 195, including bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial washings) were analysed for IL-22 using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clinical characteristics and parameters from lavage and serum were correlated with lavage IL-22 concentrations.ResultsIL-22 was higher in lavage from patients with lung disease than in controls (38.0 vs 15.3 pg/ml, p < 0.001). Patients with pneumonia and lung cancer had the highest concentrations (48.9 and 33.0 pg/ml, p = 0.009 and p < 0.001, respectively). IL-22 concentration did not correlate with systemic inflammation. IL-22 concentrations did not relate to any of the analysed cell types in BL indicating a potential mixed contribution of different cell populations to IL-22 production.ConclusionsLavage IL-22 concentrations are high in patients with lung cancer but do not correlate with systemic inflammation, thus suggesting that lavage IL-22 may be related to the underlying malignancy. Our results suggest that lavage may represent a distinct compartment where the role of IL-22 in thoracic malignancies can be studied.