Asthma, a family of airway disorders characterized by airway inflammation, has an increasing incidence worldwide. Platelet-activating factor (PAF) may play a role in the pathophysiology of asthma. Its proinflammatory actions are antagonized by PAF acetylhydrolase. A missense mutation (V279F) in the PAF acetylhydrolase gene results in the complete loss of activity, which occurs in 4% of the Japanese population. We asked if PAF acetylhydrolase deficiency correlates with the incidence and severity of asthma in Japan. We found that the prevalence of PAF acetylhydrolase deficiency is higher in Japanese asthmatics than healthy subjects and that the severity of this syndrome is highest in homozygous-deficient subjects. We conclude that the PAF acetylhydrolase gene is a modulating locus for the severity of asthma.
Diana M. Stafforini, Toshio Numao, Alexander Tsodikov, Darius Vaitkus, Takeshi Fukuda, Naoto Watanabe, Naoto Fueki, Thomas M. McIntyre, Guy A. Zimmerman, Sohei Makino, Stephen M. Prescott
Usage data is cumulative from December 2023 through December 2024.
Usage | JCI | PMC |
---|---|---|
Text version | 384 | 49 |
88 | 23 | |
Figure | 368 | 13 |
Table | 189 | 0 |
Citation downloads | 50 | 0 |
Totals | 1,079 | 85 |
Total Views | 1,164 |
Usage information is collected from two different sources: this site (JCI) and Pubmed Central (PMC). JCI information (compiled daily) shows human readership based on methods we employ to screen out robotic usage. PMC information (aggregated monthly) is also similarly screened of robotic usage.
Various methods are used to distinguish robotic usage. For example, Google automatically scans articles to add to its search index and identifies itself as robotic; other services might not clearly identify themselves as robotic, or they are new or unknown as robotic. Because this activity can be misinterpreted as human readership, data may be re-processed periodically to reflect an improved understanding of robotic activity. Because of these factors, readers should consider usage information illustrative but subject to change.