• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

CRTh2 receptor is an important mediator of the inflammatory effects and act as beneficial target for the treatment of asthma, COPD, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. In the present work, Hologram QSAR studies were conducted on a series of 50 training set CRTh2 antagonists (2-(2-(benzylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl acetic acids). The best HQSAR model was obtained using atoms, bonds, connections and donor/acceptor as fragment distinction parameter using hologram length 257 and 6 components with fragment size of minimum 7 and maximum 10. Significant cross-validated correlation coefficient ($q^2=0.786$) and non cross-validated correlation coefficients ($r^2=0.954$) were obtained. The model was then used to evaluate the 15 external test compounds which are not included in the training set and the predicted values were in good agreement with the experimental results ($r^2_{pred}=0.739$). Contribution map show that presence of C ring and its substituents makes big contributions for activities. The HQSAR model and analysis from the contribution map could be useful for further design of novel structurally related CRTh2 antagonists.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2015

Chemoattractant receptor homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTh2) is a G-protein coupled receptor targeted for inflammatory diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. In this study, pharmacophore modeling and comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) were performed on the series of 2-(2-(benzylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl) acetic acids derivatives. Five highly active compounds were used for generation of pharmacophore models using GASP module. The best pharmacophore model was selected and used as template for the alignment of compounds which was used for CoMFA analysis. The best predictions obtained for CoMFA was $q^2=0.545$, $r^2=0.756$. The predictive ability of the model was investigated using 15 test set compounds. Contour maps suggested that presence of bulky substituents at $5^{th}$ position of benzene ring connected to suphur atoms attached to imidazol ring will increase the activity of the compounds. The results obtained from this study will be useful to design more potent CRTh2 antagonists.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.273-284
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• 2015

Chemoattractant Receptor Homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTh2) is a chemoattractant receptor with seven transmembrane helices targeted for inflammatory diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. In this study, pharmacophore based Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) were performed on the series of 2-(2-(benzylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl) acetic acids derivatives. Initially, GASP module was used for generation of pharmacophore models using five highly active compounds from the dataset. Among the generated pharmacophores, the best pharmacophore model was selected based on fitness score and was used as template for the alignment of compounds which was used for CoMSIA analysis. The best predictions were obtained utilizing steric, hydrophobic and H-bond acceptor parameters showing a $q^2$=0.559 and $r^2$=0.730. 15 test set compounds was used to investigate the predictive ability of the CoMSIA model. Contour maps suggested that presence of bulky substituents and H-bond acceptor atoms at $5^{th}$ position of benzene ring will increase the activity of the compounds. The results obtained from this study will be useful to design more potent CRTh2 antagonists.

• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.662-674
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• 2018

Purpose: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic disease. However, the effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) on ILCs remains to be clarified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of ILC subsets in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients in response to house dust mite (HDM)-specific immunotherapy. Methods: We enrolled 37 AR patients undergoing AIT (16 responders and 11 non-responders) for 2 years, 35 HDM AR patients and 28 healthy subjects. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were analyzed by flow cytometry to identify ILC subsets. Stimulation of ILC2s with recombinant allergen-specific protein was used to determine ILC2's activation (CD69 expression). Results: Responder AIT patients and healthy subjects had a decreased frequency of circulating ILC2s compared to non-responder AIT and AR patients. Conversely, ILC1s from responder AIT patients and healthy subjects showed increased frequency compared to non-responder AIT and AR patients. The frequency of ILC3s natural cytotoxicity receptor $(NCR)^+$ and $NCR^-$ in responder AIT patients was significantly lower compared to AR patients and healthy subjects. The ILC1: ILC2 proportion in responder AIT patients was similar to that of healthy subjects. PBMCs from patients who were responders to AIT had a significantly lower expression of the activation marker CD69 on ILC2s in response to allergen re-stimulation compared to AR patients, but no difference compared to non-responder AIT patients and healthy subjects. Conclusions: We propose that AIT might affect ILC responses. The activation of ILC2s was reduced in AR patients treated with AIT. Our results indicate that a relative ILC1/ILC2 skewed response is a possible key to successful AIT.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.388-394
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• 2009

The cytokines which is produced by allergen-specific T helper (Th) cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Asthma is caused by exaggerated T-helper 2 (Th2)-based immune responses. It is suggested that controlling such Th2-based response is necessary for asthma therapy. The current therapies for asthma focus primarily on control of symptoms and suppression of inflammation, without affecting the underlying cause. So, we examined that anti-asthmatic drugs might have play a certain role in Th2/Th1 balance. Splenocytes isolated from ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice cultured with anti-asthmatic drugs. It is well known that Th2 and Th1 immune responses can balance one another, as Th2 mediators suppress Th1 responses and Th1 mediators similarly inhibit Th2 responses. But salmeterol inhibits both of Th1 and Th2 mediators, which salmeterol is a suppressor of immune responses not only a suppressor of Th2-based immune responses. Aminophylline is a weak suppressor of immune responses. But ipratropium and cromoglycate don't have any suppressor effect to Th2-driven responses. They only have suppressor effect to Th1 immune responses. Salmeterol, ipratropium, aminophylline, and cromoglycate augmented mRNA levels of CRTH2, EP2, and IP2 receptors in OVA-sensitized splenocytes. It is well known that the up-regulation of CRTH2 - $PGD_2$ receptor - results in restraint of eosinophil recruitment and that the increment of IP and EP2 - $PGI_2$ and $PGE_2$ receptor, respectively - may induce the accumulation of cAMP that decrease the effector function of T cells. Moreover salmeterol and cromoglycate increase the mRNA expression of $PGD_2$ synthase. These findings indicate that anti-asthma agents may alleviate the immunological responses that cause the asthmatic diseases.