Delayed and persistent suppression of bronchoconstriction by trypsin in the airway lumen.

Mucosal trypsin, a protease-activated receptor (PAR) stimulant, may have an endogenous bronchoprotective role on airway smooth muscle. To test this possibility the effects of lumenal trypsin on airway tone in segments of pig bronchus were tested. Bronchial segments from pigs were mounted in an organ chamber containing Kreb's solution. Contractions were assessed from isovolumetric lumen pressure induced by acetylcholine (ACh) or carbachol added to the adventitia. Trypsin, added to the airway lumen (300 microg x mL(-1)), had no immediate effect on smooth muscle tone but suppressed ACh-induced contractions after 60 min, for at least 3 h. Synthetic activating peptides (AP) for PAR1, PAR2 or PAR3 were without effect, but PAR4 AP caused rapid, weak suppression of contractions. Lumenal thrombin was without effect and did not prevent the effects of trypsin. Effects of trypsin were reduced by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester but not indomethacin. Trypsin, thrombin and PAR4 AP released prostaglandin E2. Adventitially, trypsin, thrombin and PAR4 AP (but not PAR2 AP) relaxed carbachol-toned airways after <3 min. The findings of this study show that trypsin causes delayed and persistent bronchoprotection by interacting with airway cells accessible from the lumen. The signalling mechanism may involve nitric oxide synthase but not prostanoids or protease-activated receptors.

Fetal alveolar epithelial cells contain [D-Ala(2)]-deltorphin I-like immunoreactivity: delta- and mu-opiate receptors mediate opposite effects in developing lung.

Opiate-like peptides can regulate many cellular functions. We now map [D-Ala(2)]deltorphin I (DADTI)-like immunoreactivity (DADTI-LI) in developing mouse lung and analyze potential functional roles. Most DADTI-LI-positive cells were alveolar cells negative for prosurfactant protein (proSP)-C immunoreactivity. Peak numbers of DADTI-LI-positive cells occurred on embryonic Day 18, decreasing postnatally. To analyze developmental effects of DADTI, e17-18 lung explants were treated with [D-Ala(2)]deltorphin II (DADTII, soluble DADTI analogue, delta-receptor-specific) versus dermorphin (mu-receptor-specific). Type II pneumocyte differentiation, assessed by [(3)H]choline incorporation into saturated phosphatidylcholine and proSP-C immunostaining, was inhibited by DADTII but stimulated by dermorphin. Cell proliferation, measured as [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining, was stimulated by DADTII and inhibited by dermorphin. All effects were dose-dependent. DADTII-inhibited choline incorporation was reversed by the delta-blocker, naltrindole. Unexpectedly, DADTII-stimulated thymidine incorporation was augmented by naltrindole and reversed by naloxone (mu-blocker). Although dermorphin-stimulated choline incorporation was appropriately blocked by binaltorphimine, dermorphin-inhibited thymidine incorporation was reversed by delta, kappa-, or mu-blockers. The delta- and mu-receptor messenger RNAs occurred pre- and postnatally, whereas kappa-receptor transcripts occurred mainly prenatally. All three receptor proteins were present in epithelial and mesenchymal cells in e18 lung. Thus, DADTI-LI from proSP-C-immunonegative alveolar cells could regulate development via both direct and indirect effects involving multiple opiate receptors.

Bombesin-like peptide and receptors in lung injury models: diverse gene expression, similar function.

We previously demonstrated that bombesin-like peptide (BLP) mediates lung injury in premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We now investigate gene expression and function of BLP (gastrin-releasing peptide, GRP) and BLP-receptors (GRP-R and BRS-3) in lung from two baboon BPD models. In the "interrupted gestation model," only GRP mRNA was up-regulated. In the "hyperoxic model," GRP-R mRNA was up-regulated. In lung explants from O2-treated animals, all BPD animals responded to 1nM bombesin, whereas non-BPD animals did not; the opposite effect was observed with a BLP blocking antibody. Cumulatively, these observations suggest that novel BLPs and/or BLP receptors are likely to be implicated in the pathogenesis of BPD.

Oncostatin M synergises with house dust mite proteases to induce the production of PGE(2) from cultured lung epithelial cells.

The release of PGE(2) and nitric oxide (NO) from the respiratory epithelium may act to dampen inflammation. In other tissues, oncostatin M (OSM), a potent inducer of epithelial antiproteases, has also been shown to interact with IL-1beta to stimulate PGE(2) release. However, whether OSM interacts with pro-inflammatory cytokines and proteases in the production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids and NO from airway epithelium is unknown. The effect of OSM and the related cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on PGE(2) and NO production by the respiratory epithelial cell line, A549 in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as protease-rich house dust mite (HDM) fractions and a protease-deficient rye grass pollen extract was examined by immunohistochemistry, cell culture, ELISA and enzyme-immunoassay. Cells treated with a mixture of IL-1beta, IFNgamma and LPS for 48 h produced a 9 fold increase in PGE(2) and a 3 fold increase in NO levels (both P<0.05). Both OSM and LIF were without effect. However, OSM added together with the cytokine mixture synergistically enhanced PGE(2) production (22 fold, P<0.05). OSM also synergistically enhanced PGE(2) production in response to a cysteine protease-enriched, but not serine protease-enriched HDM fraction (P<0.05). Rye grass extract, neither alone nor in combination with OSM, induced PGE(2) or NO production, although it did induce the release of GM-CSF. These observations suggest that OSM is an important co-factor in the release of PGE(2) and NO from respiratory epithelial cells and may play a role in defense against exogenous proteases such as those derived from HDM.

Direct effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone and thyrotropin-releasing hormone on fetal lung explants.

Fetal lung produces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) without known direct effects. We tested the hypothesis that CRH can directly regulate lung development. In baboon fetal lung explants, CRH strongly induces surfactant phospholipid synthesis and SP-C immunostaining, plus [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. CRH receptor mRNA was detected in lung from multiple baboons at e125. Testing thyrotropin (TRH) as a specificity control, we did demonstrate different direct effects with only modest stimulation of surfactant phospholipid synthesis and strong induction of cytidylyltransferase gene expression. Therefore, CRH, similar to ACTH and glucocorticoids, is a potent inducer of cell differentiation in fetal lung.

Bombesin-like peptides and receptors in normal fetal baboon lung: roles in lung growth and maturation.

Previously, we have shown that bombesin-like peptide (BLP) promotes fetal lung development in rodents and humans but mediates postnatal lung injury in hyperoxic baboons. The present study analyzed the normal ontogeny of BLP and BLP receptors as well as the effects of BLP on cultured normal fetal baboon lungs. Transcripts encoding gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), a pulmonary BLP, were detectable on gestational day 60 (ED60), peaked on approximately ED90, and then declined before term (ED180). Numbers of BLP-immunopositive neuroendocrine cells peaked from ED80 to ED125 and declined by ED160, preceding GRP-receptor mRNAs detected from ED125 until birth. BLP (0.1-10 nM) stimulated type II cell differentiation in organ cultures as assessed by [(3)H]choline incorporation into surfactant phospholipids, electron microscopy, and increased surfactant protein (SP) A- and/or SP-C-immunopositive cells and SP-A mRNA. BLP also induced neuroendocrine differentiation on ED60. Cell proliferation was induced by GRP, peaking on ED90. Similarly, blocking BLP degradation stimulated lung growth and maturation, which was completely reversed by a BLP-specific antagonist. The dissociation between GRP and GRP-receptor gene expression during ontogeny suggests that novel BLP receptors and/or peptides might be implicated in these responses.

Stimulation of surfactant lipid secretion from fetal type II pneumocytes by gastrin-releasing peptide.

Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and bombesin apparently enhance the rate of secretion of surfactant lipids from cultured fetal rat type II pneumocytes. This effect, evident within 1h of addition of the peptide, is concentration-dependent, with a maximal response at 3.0 nM. When the effect of GRP was assessed in comparison with other known secretagogues, it was found that, whereas GRP and isoproterenol were additive in their effect, there was no response to GRP in the presence of saturating concentrations of A23187 or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. This suggests that the secretory response to GRP is via activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase and/or protein kinase C and is independent of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the GRP-induced secretion is inhibited by calphostin C, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, but not by H-89, an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The fact that GRP regulates surfactant secretion from type II pneumocytes suggests that it and/or related peptides may play a significant role in the physiological maturation of the lung.