Low dose of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can induce acute oxidative stress, inflammation and pulmonary impairment in healthy mice.

Air pollution is associated with morbidity and mortality induced by respiratory diseases. However, the mechanisms therein involved are not yet fully clarified. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that a single acute exposure to low doses of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may induce functional and histological lung changes and unchain inflammatory and oxidative stress processes. PM2.5 was collected from the urban area of São Paulo city during 24 h and underwent analysis for elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contents. Forty-six male BALB/c mice received intranasal instillation of 30 µL of saline (CTRL) or PM2.5 at 5 or 15 µg in 30 µL of saline (P5 and P15, respectively). Twenty-four hours later, lung mechanics were determined. Lungs were then prepared for histological and biochemical analysis. P15 group showed significantly increased lung impedance and alveolar collapse, as well as lung tissue inflammation, oxidative stress and damage. P5 presented values between CTRL and P15: higher mechanical impedance and inflammation than CTRL, but lower inflammation and oxidative stress than P15. In conclusion, acute exposure to low doses of fine PM induced lung inflammation, oxidative stress and worsened lung impedance and histology in a dose-dependent pattern in mice.

Circulating microRNAs associated with liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients.

A major challenge in hepatitis C research is the detection of early potential for progressive liver disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs that regulate gene expression and can be biomarkers of pathological processes. In this study, we compared circulating miRNAs identified in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients presenting two extremes of liver disease: mild/moderate fibrosis and cirrhosis. The patients in the cirrhosis group subsequently developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We identified 163 mature miRNAs in the mild/moderate fibrosis group and 171 in the cirrhosis group, with 144 in common to both groups. Differential expression analysis revealed 5 upregulated miRNAs and 2 downregulated miRNAs in the cirrhosis group relative to the mild/moderate fibrosis group. Functional analyses of regulatory networks (target gene and miRNA) identified gene categories involved in cell cycle biological processes and metabolic pathways related to cell cycle, cancer, and apoptosis. These results suggest that the differentially expressed circulating miRNAs observed in this work (miR-215-5p, miR-483-5p, miR-193b-3p, miR-34a-5p, miR-885-5p, miR-26b-5p and miR -197-3p) may be candidates for biomarkers in the prognosis of liver disease.

Microcrystalline cellulose induces time-dependent lung functional and inflammatory changes.

We determined whether microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a component of pharmaceutical tablets, induces pulmonary changes. In vivo [resistive and viscoelastic pressures (DeltaP(1) and DeltaP(2)), static elastance (E(L))] and in vitro [tissue resistance (R), elastance (E), and hysteresivity (eta)] lung mechanics, histology, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed 3h, 24h, and 3, 15 and 30 days after intratracheal instillation of saline (C) or MCC in BALB/c mice. DeltaP(1) increased at 3h, remaining higher than C until day 3, while E(L) and DeltaP(2) increased only at 24h. At 3 days all mechanical parameters returned to baseline. R and E increased only at 24h. MCC increased alveolar collapse and the number of neutrophils in BALF at 3h, until 3 and 15 days, respectively. At 3 days MCC migrate from the airways into the parenchyma, where they were observed until 30 days. In conclusion, microcrystalline cellulose yielded an acute and self-limited inflammation that impaired lung mechanics.

Protective effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on lung function and remodeling in a murine model of chronic asthma.

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of a novel phosphodiesterase 4 and 5 inhibitor, LASSBio596, with that of dexamethasone in a murine model of chronic asthma. Lung mechanics (airway resistance, viscoelastic pressure, and static elastance), histology, and airway and lung parenchyma remodeling (quantitative analysis of collagen and elastic fiber) were analyzed. Thirty-three BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to four groups. In the asthma group (N = 9), mice were immunized with 10 microg ovalbumin (OVA, ip) on 7 alternate days, and after day 40 they were challenged with three intratracheal instillations of 20 microg OVA at 3-day intervals. Control mice (N = 8) received saline under the same protocol. In the dexamethasone (N = 8) and LASSBio596 (N = 8) groups, the animals of the asthma group were treated with 1 mg/kg dexamethasone disodium phosphate (0.1 mL, ip) or 10 mg/kg LASSBio596 dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (0.2 mL, ip) 24 h before the first intratracheal instillation of OVA, for 8 days. Airway resistance, viscoelastic pressure and static elastance increased significantly in the asthma group (77, 56, and 76%, respectively) compared to the control group. The asthma group presented more intense alveolar collapse, bronchoconstriction, and eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration than the control group. Both LASSBio596 and dexamethasone inhibited the changes in lung mechanics, tissue cellularity, bronchoconstriction, as well as airway and lung parenchyma remodeling. In conclusion, LASSBio596 at a dose of 10 mg/kg effectively prevented lung mechanical and morphometrical changes and had the potential to block fibroproliferation in a BALB/c mouse model of asthma.

Lung tissue mechanics and extracellular matrix composition in a murine model of silicosis.

The dynamic mechanical properties of lung tissue and its contents of collagen and elastic fibers were studied in strips prepared from mice instilled intratracheally with saline (C) or silica [15 (S15) and 30 days (S30) after instillation]. Resistance, elastance, and hysteresivity were studied during oscillations at different frequencies on S15 and S30. Elastance increased from C to silica groups but was similar between S15 and S30. Resistance was augmented from C to S15 and S30 and was greater in S30 than in S15 at higher frequencies. Hysteresivity was higher in S30 than in C and S15. Silica groups presented a greater amount of collagen than did C. Elastic fiber content increased progressively along time. This increment was related to the higher amount of oxytalan fibers at 15 and 30 days, whereas elaunin and fully developed elastic fibers were augmented only at 30 days. Silicosis led not only to pulmonary fibrosis but also to fibroelastosis, thus assigning a major role to the elastic system in the silicotic lung.

In vivo and in vitro lung mechanics by forced oscillations: effect of bleomycin challenge.

Bleomycin injury causes biomechanical changes secondary to inflammation, tissue remodeling and surfactant changes. We compared lung mechanics in open chest (OC) and tissue strip (TS) to better understand the pathophysiology of the alveolar interface between lung tissue and conducting airways. Thirty nine rats were studied at days 3, 7, and 15 after receiving saline or bleomycin (2.5 Ukg(-1)) intratracheally. Normalized elastance (E), hysteresivity (η) and exponent (ß) of the power frequency dependence of elastance were determined in OC (lung parenchyma) and TS. Remodeling (hydroxyproline) and inflammation (myeloperoxidase and lung water) parameters were determined. E, η and ß were higher in OC both in saline and bleomycin groups. The difference (OC-TS) of η and ß correlated with myeloperoxidase and lung water but not with hydroxyproline. We concluded that differences between lung parenchyma and tissue mechanics are due to mechanical effects of inhomogeneities in saline animals. Changes at the alveolar interface after bleomycin are related to oxidative stress and extravascular lung water.

Time-dependence of lung injury in mice acutely exposed to cylindrospermopsin.

Cylindrospermopsin is a cyanobacterial toxin of increasing environmental importance, as it can lead to disease if orally or intravenously absorbed. However, its in vivo lung impairment has not been documented. Thus, we aimed at verifying whether cylindrospermopsin can induce lung injury and establish its putative dependence on the time elapsed since exposure. BALB/c mice were intratracheally injected with either saline (NaCl 0.9%, 50 µL, SAL group, n = 12) or a sublethal dose (70 µg/kg) of semi-purified extract of cylindrospermopsin (CYN groups, n = 52). Lung mechanics, histological and biochemical analyses, and cylindrospermopsin presence in lungs and liver were determined in independent groups at 2, 8, 24, 48, and 96 h after cylindrospermopsin instillation. There was a significant increase in static elastance at 24 and 48 h after exposure to cylindrospermopsin, while viscoelastic component of elastance and viscoelastic pressure rose at 48 h. Alveolar collapse augmented in CYN groups at 8 h. A significant increase in polymorphonuclear influx into lung parenchyma, as well as a higher myeloperoxidase activity started off at 24 h. Exposure to cylindrospermopsin increased lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase activity and reduced catalase activity in CYN groups. The toxin was detected in lungs and liver of all CYN mice. In conclusion, cylindrospermopsin exposure impaired lung mechanics, which was preceded by lung parenchyma inflammation and oxidative stress.

Recruitment maneuver: RAMP versus CPAP pressure profile in a model of acute lung injury.

We examined whether recruitment maneuvers (RMs) with gradual increase in airway pressure (RAMP) provide better outcome than continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in paraquat-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Wistar rats received saline intraperitoneally (0.5 mL, CTRL) or paraquat (15 mg/kg, ALI). Twenty-four hours later lung mechanics [static elastance, viscoelastic component of elastance, resistive, viscoelastic and total pressures] were determined before and after recruitment with 40cmH2O CPAP for 40s or 40-s-long slow increase in pressure up to 40cmH2O (RAMP) followed by 0 or 5 cmH2O PEEP. Fractional area of alveolar collapse and PCIII mRNA were determined. All mechanical parameters and the fraction area of alveolar collapse were higher in ALI compared to CTRL. Only RAMP-PEEP maneuver significantly improved lung mechanics and decreased PCIII mRNA expression (53%) compared with ALI, while both RMs followed by PEEP decreased alveolar collapse. In conclusion, in the present experimental ALI model, RAMP followed by 5cm H2O PEEP yields a better outcome.

Does the use of recombinant AAV5 in pulmonary gene therapy lead to lung damage?

This study investigated whether repeated administration of recombinant adeno-associated virus type 5 (rAAV5) to the airways induces inflammatory processes in the lungs of BALB/c-mice, with mechanical and histologic changes. Saline was instilled intratracheally in the control group, and rAAV5-green fluorescence protein (GFP) (4x10(11)particles) in the virus group (VR). These groups were subdivided into four subgroups: one dose analyzed 3 weeks later (VR1d3w) and two doses analyzed 1 (VR2d1w), 2 (VR2d2w) and 3 weeks (VR2d3w) after the second dose. Lung morphometry, mechanical parameters, airway responsiveness, rAAV5-GFP transduction and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were investigated. No significant differences in lung mechanics, airway responsiveness, and morphometry were observed. Re-administration of rAAV5 vector resulted in a decrease in GFP mRNA expression in the VR2d3w group. There was no evidence of inflammatory response or apoptosis in any group. rAAV5 did not induce an inflammatory process, mechanical or morphometric changes in the lungs. AAV5 may be an appropriate vector for lung gene therapy.

Asthma: where is it going?

Asthma is characterized by reversible airway obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness, and airway inflammation. Although our understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms continues to evolve, the relative contributions of airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation are still debated. The first mechanism identified as important for asthma was bronchial hyperresponsiveness. In a second step, asthma was recognized also as an inflammatory disease, with chronic inflammation inducing structural changes or remodeling. However, persistence of airway dysfunction despite inflammatory control is observed in chronic severe asthma of both adults and children. More recently, a potential role for epithelial-mesenchymal communication or transition is emerging, with epithelial injury often resulting in a self-sustaining phenotype of wound repair modulation by activation/reactivation of the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit, suggesting that chronic asthma can be more than an inflammatory disease. It is noteworthy that the gene-environmental interactions critical for the development of a full asthma phenotype involve processes similar to those occurring in branching morphogenesis. In addition, a central role for airway smooth muscle in the pathogenesis of the disease has been explored, highlighting its secretory function as well as different intrinsic properties compared to normal subjects. These new concepts can potentially shed light on the mechanisms underlying some asthma phenotypes and improve our understanding of the disease in terms of the therapeutic strategies to be applied. How we understand asthma and its mechanisms along time will be the focus of this overview.

Effects of uni- and bilateral phrenicotomy on active and passive respiratory mechanics in rats.

Eighteen spontaneously breathing anesthetized rats were selected to belong to three groups: control (C), unilateral (U), and bilateral phrenicotomy (B). Eight days after surgery, the passive and active mechanical properties of the respiratory system, the shape of the occlusion pressure wave, the decay of inspiratory muscle activity during expiration and control of breathing were analysed. Passive and active elastances increased significantly from C to U and from U to B. Passive and active time constants decreased either in uni- or bilateral phrenicotomies. Passive and active resistances remained unaltered. The intensity of respiratory drive increased from C to U and B. In conclusion, uni- and bilateral phrenicotomies increase the elastic load of the respiratory system, because of both its passive and active components, which raised the respiratory neuromuscular drive of the remaining muscles. Consequently, minute ventilation remained unchanged. The higher frequency was allowed for, by a shorter time constant of the respiratory system and by a faster decay of post-inspiratory muscle activity.

Respiratory effects of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory lung injury in mice.

The pathogenic mechanisms of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury have not been classified. This study examined the physiological changes after endotoxin inhalation and related those to features of pulmonary inflammation in mice. Pulmonary mechanics, histopathology, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from BALB/c mice were analysed at different occasions (3, 24, 48 and 72 h) after inhalation of saline or LPS from Escherichia coli (0.3 (L0.3) or 10 mg x mL(-1) (L10)). Mice were sedated, anaesthetized, and ventilated. After chest wall resection static (Est) and dynamic (Edyn) elastances, deltaE (Edyn-Est), resistive (deltaP1) and viscoelastic/inhomogeneous pressures (deltaP2), and deltaP1+deltaP2 (deltaPtot) were obtained by end-inflation occlusion method. Lungs were prepared for histopathology. In parallel groups, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, neutrophils, and protein were evaluated in the BALF. L0.3 and L10 showed a time-dependent production of TNF-alpha preceding a massive neutrophil infiltration. In L10 BALF there was an increase in protein level at 24 and 48 h. Est and Edyn increased early in L0.3 (65%, 63%) and L10 (41%, 51%). In L10 deltaE, deltaP2, and deltaPtot showed a gradual rise. At 72 h all groups were similar. L0.3 showed an early increase in cellularity, which returned to normal at 72 h. L10 presented the same pattern with the cell count remaining elevated until 72 h. In conclusion, lipopolysaccharide inhalation led to elastic and viscoelastic pulmonary changes together with tumour necrosis factor-alpha production and neutrophil infiltration in mouse lung.

Pulmonary morphofunctional effects of acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may yield several respiratory changes. Nevertheless, no comprehensive pulmonary morphological/physiological correlation has been performed under this condition. The aims of the present investigation were: 1) to determine the respiratory parameters in an experimental model of coronary artery occlusion, 2) to relate these results to findings from lung histopathology, and 3) to evaluate the effects of propranolol used prior to AMI. Twenty-eight rats were anaesthetized and mechanically ventilated. In the control group (C), a suture line was passed around the left anterior descending coronary artery (LADCA). The infarct group (I) was similarly prepared but the LADCA was ligated and infarct resulted. In the control/propranolol (CP) and infarct/propranolol (IP) groups, propranolol was intravenously injected 5 min before surgery as performed in groups C and I, respectively. Lung static (EL,st) and dynamic (EL,dyn) elastances, airway resistance (RL,int), and viscoelastic/inhomogeneous pressure (deltaP2L) were determined before and 30, 60 and 120 min after surgery. In group I, EL,st, EL,dyn, RL,int and deltaP2L increased progressively throughout the experiment, and were higher than those found in groups C, CP and IP. All respiratory parameters but EL,st remained unaltered in group IP. Lung histopathological examination demonstrated alveolar, interstitial and intrabronchial oedema in group I. Group IP showed only interstitial oedema. Acute myocardial infarction yields lung resistive, elastic and viscoelastic changes. The last two results from alveolar and interstitial oedema, respectively. The previous use of propranolol diminishes respiratory changes.

Asthma: where is it going?: [review]

Asthma is characterized by reversible airway obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness, and airway inflammation. Although our understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms continues to evolve, the relative contributions of airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation are still debated. The first mechanism identified as important for asthma was bronchial hyperresponsiveness. In a second step, asthma was recognized also as an inflammatory disease, with chronic inflammation inducing structural changes or remodeling. However, persistence of airway dysfunction despite inflammatory control is observed in chronic severe asthma of both adults and children. More recently, a potential role for epithelial-mesenchymal communication or transition is emerging, with epithelial injury often resulting in a self-sustaining phenotype of wound repair modulation by activation/reactivation of the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit, suggesting that chronic asthma can be more than an inflammatory disease. It is noteworthy that the gene-environmental interactions critical for the development of a full asthma phenotype involve processes similar to those occurring in branching morphogenesis. In addition, a central role for airway smooth muscle in the pathogenesis of the disease has been explored, highlighting its secretory function as well as different intrinsic properties compared to normal subjects. These new concepts can potentially shed light on the mechanisms underlying some asthma phenotypes and improve our understanding of the disease in terms of the therapeutic strategies to be applied. How we understand asthma and its mechanisms along time will be the focus of this overview.

Protective effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on lung function and remodeling in a murine model of chronic asthma

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of a novel phosphodiesterase 4 and 5 inhibitor, LASSBio596, with that of dexamethasone in a murine model of chronic asthma. Lung mechanics (airway resistance, viscoelastic pressure, and static elastance), histology, and airway and lung parenchyma remodeling (quantitative analysis of collagen and elastic fiber) were analyzed. Thirty-three BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to four groups. In the asthma group (N = 9), mice were immunized with 10 æg ovalbumin (OVA, ip) on 7 alternate days, and after day 40 they were challenged with three intratracheal instillations of 20 æg OVA at 3-day intervals. Control mice (N = 8) received saline under the same protocol. In the dexamethasone (N = 8) and LASSBio596 (N = 8) groups, the animals of the asthma group were treated with 1 mg/kg dexamethasone disodium phosphate (0.1 mL, ip) or 10 mg/kg LASSBio596 dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (0.2 mL, ip) 24 h before the first intratracheal instillation of OVA, for 8 days. Airway resistance, viscoelastic pressure and static elastance increased significantly in the asthma group (77, 56, and 76 percent, respectively) compared to the control group. The asthma group presented more intense alveolar collapse, bronchoconstriction, and eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration than the control group. Both LASSBio596 and dexamethasone inhibited the changes in lung mechanics, tissue cellularity, bronchoconstriction, as well as airway and lung parenchyma remodeling. In conclusion, LASSBio596 at a dose of 10 mg/kg effectively prevented lung mechanical and morphometrical changes and had the potential to block fibroproliferation in a BALB/c mouse model of asthma.