Given a passage, construct a question on the basis of the information present in the passage. Construct the question in such a way that (i) it is unambiguous, (ii) it is answerable from the passage, (iii) its answer is unique (iv) it answer uses text phrases from the passage. Avoid creating questions that (i) can't be answered correctly without actually understanding the passage and (ii) uses the same words or phrases given in the passage.

Ex Input:
Pirfenidone (5 methyl-1-phenyl-2(1H)-pyridone) is a novel anti-fibrotic agent, which has been shown to decrease collagen deposition in a variety of animal models in vivo, and recently in hepatic fibrosis also. At cellular level, we have recently demonstrated that pirfenidone is able to inhibit proliferation of hepatic stellate cells induced by platelet-derived growth factor, as well as collagen type I accumulation and alpha1(I) procollagen mRNA expression.', 'To evaluate if pirfenidone maintains its anti-fibrotic properties also when administered after the induction of hepatic damage and to further investigate the molecular mechanisms leading to the anti-fibrotic effect of pirfenidone.', 'Rats treated with dimethylnitrosamine (10 mg/kg) for 5 weeks received a liquid diet containing 0.5% pirfenidone starting from the third week. Pirfenidone treatment reduced the degree of liver injury, as determined by alanine aminotransferase values and necro-inflammatory score, which was associated with reduced hepatic stellate cells proliferation and collagen deposition. Treatment with dimethylnitrosamine increased transcripts levels for transforming growth factorbeta1, procollagen alpha1(I), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 by 7-, 7-, 4- and 15-fold, respectively. Pirfenidone administration downregulated elevated levels of those transcripts by 50-60%, and this was associated with a 70% reduction in collagen deposition.

Ex Output:
Is the anti-fibrotic effect of pirfenidone in rat liver fibrosis mediated by downregulation of procollagen alpha1 ( I ) , TIMP-1 and MMP-2?

Ex Input:
Inadequate response of the innate immune system to bacterial antigens present in the intestinal flora may play a role in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Pattern recognition receptors such as CD14, toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, and caspase-recruitment domain (CARD) 15 bind bacterial lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan, and their activation leads to production of inflammatory cytokines. Our aim was to evaluate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CD14, TLR4, and CARD15 are associated with the risk of NEC in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.', 'We determined the CD14 C-260T, TLR4 A +896G, C +1196T, and CARD15 G +2722C, C +2104T, 3020insC functional SNPs in dried blood samples from 118 VLBW infants (of those, 41 developed NEC) and from 146 healthy term newborns using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. We tested the association between genotype and risk of NEC.', 'No significant differences were found in the prevalence of CD14 -260T, TLR4 +896G, +1196T, and CARD15 +2722C, +2104T, 3020insC alleles between VLBW infants and healthy term newborns (P = NS). The frequencies of investigated genotypes were similar in infants with and without NEC (P = NS). Furthermore, we did not find any association between genotype and prematurity or sepsis, which are important risk factors of NEC.

Ex Output:
Are genetic polymorphisms of CD14 , toll-like receptor 4 , and caspase-recruitment domain 15 associated with necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight infants?

Ex Input:
Allergic asthma is an inflammatory lung disease caused by a T(H)2-driven immune response. However, intranasal exposures to soluble antigen lead to mucosal tolerance, and the mechanism involved in generation of T(H)2 responses to inert inhaled allergens is unknown.', 'The aim of this study was to investigate whether CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells can contribute to the induction of T(H)2-dependent allergic asthma in a mouse model.', 'To investigate the effect of NKT cells on the development of asthma, NKT cell ligand, alpha-galactosylceramide (alphaGC), was used with antigens. We intranasally sensitized Balb/c mice with various combinations of antigen and alphaGC for 3 consecutive days and challenged them 2 weeks later with an aerosol of ovalbumin. NKT cell-deficient or T(H) cell-deficient mice were immunized by administering ovalbumin and alphaGC together, and ovalbumin inhalation.', 'Only when immunized with ovalbumin plus alphaGC, airway hyperreactivity, airway eosinophils, elevated IgE level, and T(H)2-cytokine production were observed in Balb/c mice. Ovalbumin alone, alphaGC alone, or BSA plus alphaGC-immunized mice did not induce asthma. Studies in NKT cell-deficient, or CD4(+) T-cell-deficient mice intranasally exposed to ovalbumin plus alphaGC did not show the development of asthma. An increase of NKT cells in bronchoalveolar lavage was observed in the pathologic states.

Ex Output:
Is asthma induced by intranasal coadministration of allergen and natural killer T-cell ligand in a mouse model?