Urokinase receptor (uPAR, CD87) is a platelet receptor important for kinetics and TNF-induced endothelial adhesion in mice. (41/4148)

BACKGROUND: Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR, CD87) is a widely distributed 55-kD, glycoprotein I-anchored surface receptor. On binding of its ligand uPA, it is known to increase leukocyte adhesion and traffic. Using genetically deficient mice, we explored the role of uPAR in platelet kinetics and TNF-induced platelet consumption. METHODS AND RESULTS: Anti-uPAR antibody stained platelets from normal (+/+) but not from uPAR-/- mice, as seen by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. 51Cr-labeled platelets from uPAR-/- donors survived longer than those from +/+ donors when injected into a +/+ recipient. Intratracheal TNF injection induced thrombocytopenia and a platelet pulmonary localization, pronounced in +/+ but absent in uPAR-/- mice. Aprotinin, a plasmin inhibitor, decreased TNF-induced thrombocytopenia. TNF injection markedly reduced the survival and increased the pulmonary localization of 51Cr-labeled platelets from +/+ but not from uPAR-/- donors, indicating that it is the platelet uPAR that is critical for their response to TNF. As seen by electron microscopy, TNF injection increased the number of platelets and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in the alveolar capillaries of +/+ mice, whereas in uPAR-/- mice, platelet trapping was insignificant and PMN trapping was slightly reduced. Platelets within alveolar capillaries of TNF-injected mice were activated, as judged from their shape, and this was evident in +/+ but not in uPAR-/- mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate for the first time the critical role of platelet uPAR for kinetics as well as for activation and endothelium adhesion associated with inflammation.  (+info)

ERK activation protects against DNA damage and apoptosis in hyperoxic rat AEC2. (42/4148)

The survival of type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2) in the lung after hyperoxic injury is regulated by signals from the cellular environment. Keratinocyte growth factor and Matrigel can ameliorate the hallmarks of apoptosis seen in hyperoxic AEC2 after 24-h culture on plastic [S. Buckley, L. Barsky, B. Driscoll, K. Weinberg, K. D. Anderson, and D. Warburton. Am. J. Physiol. 274 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 18): L714-L720, 1998]. We used the same model of in vivo short-term hyperoxia to characterize the protective effects of substrate attachment. Culture of hyperoxic AEC2 on various biological adhesion substrates showed reduced DNA end labeling in cells grown on all biological substrates compared with growth on plastic. In contrast, the synthetic substrate poly-D-lysine conferred no protection. Hyperoxic AEC2 cultured on laminin showed an increased ratio of expression of Bcl-2 to interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme compared with culture on plastic. Laminin also partially restored hyperoxia-depleted glutathione levels and conferred improved optimal mitochondrial viability as measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Conversely, attachment to the nonphysiological substrate poly-D-lysine afforded no such protection, suggesting that protection against hyperoxia-induced damage may be associated with integrin signaling. Increased activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), as detected by increased ERK tyrosine phosphorylation, was seen in hyperoxic AEC2 as soon as the cells started to attach to laminin and was sustained after 24 h of culture in contrast to that in control AEC2. To confirm that protection against DNA strand breakage and apoptosis was being conferred by ERK activation, the cells were also plated in the presence of 50 microM PD-98059, an inhibitor of the ERK-activating mitogen-activating kinase. Culture for 24 h with PD-98059 abolished the protective effect of laminin. We speculate that after hyperoxic lung injury, signals through the basement membrane confer specific protection against oxygen-induced DNA strand breakage and apoptosis through an ERK activation-dependent pathway.  (+info)

Stretch induces cytokine release by alveolar epithelial cells in vitro. (43/4148)

Mechanical ventilation can injure the lung, causing edema and alveolar inflammation. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) plays an important role in this inflammatory response. We postulated that cyclic cell stretch upregulates the production and release of IL-8 by human alveolar epithelium in the absence of structural cell damage or paracrine stimulation. To test this hypothesis, alveolar epithelial cells (A549 cells) were cultured on a deformable silicoelastic membrane. When stretched by 30% for up to 48 h, the cells released 49 +/- 34% more IL-8 (P < 0.001) than static controls. Smaller deformations (20% stretch) produced no consistent increase in IL-8. Stretch of 4 h duration increased IL-8 gene transcription fourfold above baseline. Stretch had no effect on cell proliferation, cell viability as assessed by (51)Cr release assay, or the release of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. We conclude that deformation per se can trigger inflammatory signaling and that alveolar epithelial cells may be active participants in the alveolitis associated with ventilator-induced lung injury.  (+info)

Efficient killing of inhaled bacteria in DeltaF508 mice: role of airway surface liquid composition. (44/4148)

Cystic fibrosis mice have been generated by gene targeting but show little lung disease without repeated exposure to bacteria. We asked if murine mucosal defenses and airway surface liquid (ASL) Cl(-) were altered by the DeltaF508 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator mutation. Naive DeltaF508 -/- and +/- mice showed no pulmonary inflammation and after inhaled Pseudomonas aeruginosa had similar inflammatory responses and bacterial clearance rates. We therefore investigated components of the innate immune system. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from mice killed Escherichia coli, and the microbicidal activity was inhibited by NaCl. Because beta-defensins are salt-sensitive epithelial products, we looked for pulmonary beta-defensin expression. A mouse homolog of human beta-defensin-1 (termed "MBD-1") was identified; the mRNA was expressed in the lung. Using a radiotracer technique, ASL volume and Cl(-) concentration ([Cl(-)]) were measured in cultured tracheal epithelia from normal and DeltaF508 -/- mice. The estimated ASL volume was similar for both groups. There were no differences in ASL [Cl(-)] in DeltaF508 -/- and normal mice (13.8 +/- 2.6 vs. 17.8 +/- 5.6 meq/l). Because ASL [Cl(-)] is low in normal and mutant mice, salt-sensitive antimicrobial factors, including MBD-1, may be normally active.  (+info)

Isoproterenol improves ability of lung to clear edema in rats exposed to hyperoxia. (45/4148)

Exposure of adult rats to 100% O(2) results in lung injury and decreases active sodium transport and lung edema clearance. It has been reported that beta-adrenergic agonists increase lung edema clearance in normal rat lungs by upregulating alveolar epithelial Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase function. This study was designed to examine whether isoproterenol (Iso) affects lung edema clearance in rats exposed to 100% O(2) for 64 h. Active Na(+) transport and lung edema clearance decreased by approximately 44% in rats exposed to acute hyperoxia. Iso (10(-6) M) increased the ability of the lung to clear edema in room-air-breathing rats (from 0.50 +/- 0.02 to 0.99 +/- 0. 05 ml/h) and in rats exposed to 100% O(2) (from 0.28 +/- 0.03 to 0. 86 +/- 0.09 ml/h; P < 0.001). Disruption of intracellular microtubular transport of ion-transporting proteins by colchicine (0. 25 mg/100 g body wt) inhibited the stimulatory effects of Iso in hyperoxia-injured rat lungs, whereas the isomer beta-lumicolchicine, which does not affect microtubular transport, did not inhibit active Na(+) transport stimulated by Iso. Accordingly, Iso restored the lung's ability to clear edema after hyperoxic lung injury, probably by stimulation of the recruitment of ion-transporting proteins (Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase) from intracellular pools to the plasma membrane in rat alveolar epithelium.  (+info)

A tidal breathing model for the multiple inert gas elimination technique. (46/4148)

The tidal breathing lung model described for the sine-wave technique (D. J. Gavaghan and C. E. W. Hahn. Respir. Physiol. 106: 209-221, 1996) is generalized to continuous ventilation-perfusion and ventilation-volume distributions. This tidal breathing model is then applied to the multiple inert gas elimination technique (P. D. Wagner, H. A. Saltzman, and J. B. West. J. Appl. Physiol. 36: 588-599, 1974). The conservation of mass equations are solved, and it is shown that 1) retentions vary considerably over the course of a breath, 2) the retentions are dependent on alveolar volume, and 3) the retentions depend only weakly on the width of the ventilation-volume distribution. Simulated experimental data with a unimodal ventilation-perfusion distribution are inserted into the parameter recovery model for a lung with 1 or 2 alveolar compartments and for a lung with 50 compartments. The parameters recovered using both models are dependent on the time interval over which the blood sample is taken. For best results, the blood sample should be drawn over several breath cycles.  (+info)

Anatomic localization of 24- and 96-h particle retention in canine airways. (47/4148)

Long-term retention of particles in airways is controversial. However, precise anatomic localization of the particles is not possible in people. In this study the anatomic location of retained particles after shallow bolus inhalation was determined in anesthetized, ventilated beagle dogs. Fifty 30-cm(3) boluses containing monodisperse 2.5-micron polystyrene particles (PSL) were delivered to a shallow lung depth of 81-129 cm(3). At 96 h before euthanasia, red fluorescent PSL were used; at 24 h, green fluorescent PSL and (99m)Tc-labeled PSL were used. Clearance of (99m)Tc-PSL was measured during the next 24 h. Sites of particle retention were determined in systematic, volume-weighted random samples of microwave-fixed lung tissue. Precise particle localization and distribution was analyzed by using gamma counting, conventional fluorescence microscopy, and confocal microscopy. Within 24 h after shallow bolus inhalation, 50-95% of the deposited (99m)Tc-PSL were cleared, but the remaining fraction was cleared slowly in all dogs, similar to previous human results. The three-dimensional deposition patterns showed particles across the entire cross-sectional plane of the lungs at the level of the carina. In these locations, 33 +/- 9.9% of the retained particles were found in small, nonrespiratory airways (0.3- to 1-mm diameter) and 49 +/- 10% of the particles in alveoli; the remaining fraction was found in larger airways. After 96 h, a similar pattern was found. These findings suggest that long-term retention in airways is at the bronchiolar level.  (+info)

Effect of I/E ratio on mean alveolar pressure during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation. (48/4148)

This study investigated factors contributing to differences between mean alveolar pressure (PA) and mean pressure at the airway opening (Pao) during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV). The effect of the inspiratory-to-expiratory time (I/E) ratio and amplitude of oscillation on the magnitude of - Pao (Pdiff) was examined by using the alveolar capsule technique in normal rabbit lungs (n = 4) and an in vitro lung model. The effect of ventilator frequency and endotracheal tube (ETT) diameter on Pdiff was further examined in the in vitro lung model at an I/E ratio of 1:2. In both lung models, fell below Pao during HFOV when inspiratory time was shorter than expiratory time. Under these conditions, differences between inspiratory and expiratory flows, combined with the nonlinear relationship between resistive pressure drop and flow in the ETT, are the principal determinants of Pdiff. In our experiments, the magnitude of Pdiff at each combination of I/E, frequency, lung compliance, and ETT resistance could be predicted from the difference between the mean squared inspiratory and expiratory velocities in the ETT. These observations provide an explanation for the measured differences in mean pressure between the airway opening and the alveoli during HFOV and will assist in the development of optimal strategies for the clinical application of this technique.  (+info)