Openings in frog microvascular endothelium at different rates of increase in pressure and at different temperatures.

Experiments were carried out on single mesenteric capillaries and venules of pithed frogs to determine whether the rate of increase in intravascular pressure (dP/dt) influenced the critical pressure (P(B)) which increases wall permeability. Vessels, microperfused with frog Ringer solutions containing 0.1% bovine serum albumin and red cells, were occluded downstream before pressure was raised either as a ramp or in a series of 13.6 cmH2O steps. By varying step duration, the mean dP/dt could be matched to dP/dt applied as a steady ramp. P(B) was recorded as the pressure at which there was an abrupt increase in filtration with red cells passing to and through one or more sites in the vessel wall. In all vessels, increasing dP/dt raised P(B), with no differences between steps and ramps. The relation between P(B) and dP/dt was linear, consistent with a latent period, T (the slope), between a critical pressure being reached and the abrupt increase in permeability being observed. Direct observation confirmed this latent period. Between 12 and 20 (o)C, T was 8.5 +/- 0.47 s; between 0 and 5 degrees C, T was 11.5 +/- 0.97 s. Tissue cooling did not influence the time constant, tau, describing the rate of stretch of wall following a step increase in pressure and used to measure wall visco-elastic properties. Nor was the value of tau (1.15 +/- 0.06 s, n = 42) consistent with T being accounted for by visco-elasticity. It is suggested that the latent period may indicate an active response of the endothelium.

A system to impose prescribed homogenous strains on cultured cells.

There is presently significant interest in cellular responses to physical forces, and numerous devices have been developed to apply stretch to cultured cells. Many of the early devices were limited by the heterogeneity of deformation of cells in different locations and by the high degree of anisotropy at a particular location. We have therefore developed a system to impose cyclic, large-strain, homogeneous stretch on a multiwell surface-treated silicone elastomer substrate plated with pulmonary epithelial cells. The pneumatically driven mechanism consists of four plates each with a clamp to fix one edge of the cruciform elastomer substrate. Four linear bearings set at predetermined angles between the plates ensure a constant ratio of principal strains throughout the stretch cycle. We present the design of the device and membrane shape, the surface modifications of the membrane to promote cell adhesion, predicted and experimental measurements of the strain field, and new data using cultured airway epithelial cells. We present for the first time the relationship between the magnitude of cyclic mechanical strain and the extent of wound closure and cell spreading.

Prostaglandin E(2) regulates wound closure in airway epithelium.

Repair of the airway epithelium after injury is critical for the maintenance of barrier function and the limitation of airway hyperreactivity. Airway epithelial cells (AECs) metabolize arachidonic acid to biologically active eicosanoids via the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX). We investigated whether stimulating or inhibiting COX metabolites would affect wound closure in monolayers of cultured AECs. Inhibiting COX with indomethacin resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of wound closure in human and feline AECs. Specific inhibitors for both COX-1 and COX-2 isoforms impaired wound healing. Inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase did not affect wound closure in these cells. The addition of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) eliminated the inhibition due to indomethacin treatment, and the exogenous application of PGE(2) stimulated wound closure in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition of COX with indomethacin only at initial time points resulted in a sustained inhibition of wound closure, indicating that prostanoids are involved in early wound repair processes such as spreading and migration. These differences in wound closure may be important if arachidonic acid metabolism and eicosanoid concentrations are altered in disease states such as asthma.

Shear stress enhances human endothelial cell wound closure in vitro.

Repair of the endothelium occurs in the presence of continued blood flow, yet the mechanisms by which shear forces affect endothelial wound closure remain elusive. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that shear stress enhances endothelial cell wound closure. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) or human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) were cultured on type I collagen-coated coverslips. Cell monolayers were sheared for 18 h in a parallel-plate flow chamber at 12 dyn/cm(2) to attain cellular alignment and then wounded by scraping with a metal spatula. Subsequently, the monolayers were exposed to a laminar shear stress of 3, 12, or 20 dyn/cm(2) under shear-wound-shear (S-W-sH) or shear-wound-static (S-W-sT) conditions for 6 h. Wound closure was measured as a percentage of original wound width. Cell area, centroid-to-centroid distance, and cell velocity were also measured. HUVEC wounds in the S-W-sH group exposed to 3, 12, or 20 dyn/cm(2) closed to 21, 39, or 50%, respectively, compared with only 59% in the S-W-sT cells. Similarly, HCAEC wounds closed to 29, 49, or 33% (S-W-sH) compared with 58% in the S-W-sT cells. Cell spreading and migration, but not proliferation, were the major mechanisms accounting for the increases in wound closure rate. These results suggest that physiological levels of shear stress enhance endothelial repair.

Keratinocyte growth factor accelerates wound closure in airway epithelium during cyclic mechanical strain.

The airway epithelium may be damaged by inhalation of noxious agents, in response to pathogens, or during endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Maintenance of an intact epithelium is important for lung fluid balance, and the loss of epithelium may stimulate inflammatory responses. Epithelial repair in the airways following injury must occur on a substrate that undergoes cyclic elongation and compression during respiration. We have previously shown that cyclic mechanical strain inhibits wound closure in the airway epithelium (Savla and Waters, 1998b). In this study, we investigated the stimulation of epithelial wound closure by keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) in vitro and the mechanisms by which KGF overcomes the inhibition due to mechanical strain. Primary cultures of normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) and a cell line of human airway epithelial cells, Calu 3, were grown on Silastic membranes, and a wound was scraped across the well. The wells were then exposed to cyclic strain using the Flexercell Strain Unit, and wound closure was measured. While cyclic elongation (20% maximum) and cyclic compression (approximately 2%) both inhibited wound closure in untreated wells, treatment with KGF (50 ng/ml) significantly accelerated wound closure and overcame the inhibition due to cyclic strain. Since wound closure involves cell spreading, migration, and proliferation, we investigated the effect of cyclic strain on cell area, cell-cell distance, and cell velocity at the wound edge. While the cell area increased in unstretched monolayers, the cell area of monolayers in compressed regions decreased significantly. Treatment with KGF increased the cell area in both cyclically elongated and compressed cells. Also, when cells were treated with KGF, cell velocity was significantly increased in both static and cyclically strained monolayers, and cyclic strain did not inhibit cell migration. These results suggest that KGF is an important factor in epithelial repair that is capable of overcoming the inhibition of repair due to physiological levels of cyclic strain.

Keratinocyte growth factor induces angiogenesis and protects endothelial barrier function.

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), also called fibroblast growth factor-7, is widely known as a paracrine growth and differentiation factor that is produced by mesenchymal cells and has been thought to act specifically on epithelial cells. Here it is shown to affect a new cell type, the microvascular endothelial cell. At subnanomolar concentrations KGF induced in vivo neovascularization in the rat cornea. In vitro it was not effective against endothelial cells cultured from large vessels, but did act directly on those cultured from small vessels, inducing chemotaxis with an ED50 of 0.02-0.05 ng/ml, stimulating proliferation and activating mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK). KGF also helped to maintain the barrier function of monolayers of capillary but not aortic endothelial cells, protecting against hydrogen peroxide and vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor (VEGF/VPF) induced increases in permeability with an ED50 of 0.2-0.5 ng/ml. These newfound abilities of KGF to induce angiogenesis and to stabilize endothelial barriers suggest that it functions in microvascular tissue as it does in epithelial tissues to protect them against mild insults and to speed their repair after major damage.

Barrier function of airway epithelium: effects of radiation and protection by keratinocyte growth factor.

In patients undergoing radiation therapy in the thoracic region, ionizing radiation causes immediate damage to pulmonary endothelial and epithelial cells. We have recently shown that keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) protects against increases in permeability induced by hydrogen peroxide in human airway epithelial cells. Since radiation injury involves the production of oxygen free radicals, we tested the hypothesis that KGF would protect against radiation-induced increases in permeability. Two lines of human airway epithelial cells (Calu-3 and 16HBE14o-) were grown on collagen-coated polyester membranes (Transwell, Costar) and the permeability of the monolayers was determined by measuring the flux of tracers from the top chamber to the bottom chamber as a function of time. Changes in permeability were apparent 4 h after exposure. Increasing doses of radiation (2-10 Gy) stimulated significant increases in permeability compared with control monolayers (P < 0. 05, n=5-10) in Calu-3 and 16HBE14o- cells. KGF (50 ng/ml) alone reduced permeability significantly compared with controls, protected against increases in permeability with low doses of radiation and provided partial protection at higher doses. KGF also provided a significant effect in cells irradiated with 10 Gy (n=5, P < 0. 05) when given for the 4 h immediately after irradiation. The effects of KGF were sustained. After a full 24-h pretreatment with KGF, cells were incubated in medium without KGF for 8 or 12 h prior to 10 Gy irradiation. Both of these treatments significantly reduced permeability to albumin in sham-irradiated and irradiated cells (n=3, P < 0.05). To investigate the signal transduction pathways through which KGF mediates protection, permeability was measured in the presence of the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, calphostin C, or the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein. Inhibition of PKC blocked the decrease in basal tracer flux caused by KGF treatment in both cell types and removed the KGF-mediated protection against radiation. Incubation with genistein completely blocked the KGF-mediated decrease in the baseline tracer flux, as well as the ameliorating effect observed after irradiation. Rhodamine-phalloidin staining of the F-actin cytoskeleton showed disruption of the cytoskeleton with radiation exposure, increased density of F-actin filaments with KGF treatment, and resistance to disruption when cells were pretreated with KGF and exposed to radiation. Our results suggest that KGF regulates permeability in airway epithelium through a pathway mediated by PKC and tyrosine kinase that stabilizes the F-actin cytoskeleton.

Mechanical strain inhibits repair of airway epithelium in vitro.

The repair of airway epithelium after injury is crucial in restoring epithelial barrier integrity. Although the airway epithelium is stretched and compressed due to changes in both circumferential and longitudinal dimensions during respiration and may be overdistended during mechanical ventilation, the effect of cyclic strain on the repair of epithelial wounds is unknown. Human and cat airway epithelial cells were cultured on flexible membranes, wounded by scraping with a metal spatula, and subjected to cyclic strain using the Flexercell Strain Unit. Because the radial strain profile in the wells was nonuniform, we compared closure in regions of elongation and compression within the same well. Both cyclic elongation and cyclic compression significantly slowed repair, with compression having the greatest effect. This attenuation was dependent upon the time of relaxation (TR) during the cycle. When wells were stretched at 10 cycles/min (6 s/cycle) with TR = 5 s, wounds closed similarly to wounds in static wells, whereas in wells with TR = 1 s, significant inhibition was observed. As the TR during cycles increased (higher TR), wounds closed faster. We measured the effect of strain at various TRs on cell area and centroid-centroid distance (CD) as a measure of spreading and migration. While cell area and CD in static wells significantly increased over time, the area and CD of cells in the elongated regions did not change. Cells in compressed regions were significantly smaller, with significantly lower CD. Cell area and CD became progressively larger with increasing TR. These results suggest that mechanical strain inhibits epithelial repair.

Cyclic stretch of airway epithelium inhibits prostanoid synthesis.

Airway epithelial cells (AEC) metabolize arachidonic acid (AA) to biologically active eicosanoids, which contribute to regulation of airway smooth muscle tone and inflammatory responses. Although in vivo the airways undergo cyclical stretching during ventilation, the effect of cyclic stretch on airway epithelial AA metabolism is unknown. In this study, cat and human AEC were grown on flexible membranes and were subjected to cyclic stretch using the Flexercell strain unit. Cyclic stretch downregulated synthesis of prostaglandin (PG) E2, PGI2, and thromboxane A2 by both cell types in a frequency-dependent manner. The percent inhibition of prostanoid synthesis in both cell types ranged from 53 +/- 7 to 75 +/- 8% (SE; n = 4 and 5, respectively). Treatment of cat AEC with exogenous AA (10 micrograms/ml) had no effect on the stretch-induced inhibition of PGE2 synthesis, whereas treatment with exogenous PGH2 (10 micrograms/ml) overcame the stretch-induced decrease in PGE2 production. These results indicate that stretch inhibits prostanoid synthesis by inactivating cyclooxygenase. When cells were pretreated with the antioxidants catalase (100 micrograms/ml, 150 U/ml) and N-acetylcysteine (1 mM), there was a partial recovery of eicosanoid production, suggesting that cyclic stretch-induced inactivation of cyclooxygenase is oxidant mediated. These results may have important implications for inflammatory diseases in which airway mechanics are altered.

KGF prevents hydrogen peroxide-induced increases in airway epithelial cell permeability.

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) has recently been shown to protect rats from hyperoxia-induced lung injury. However, the mechanism of the protective effect of KGF remains unclear. To elucidate the mechanism of action of KGF, we determined the effect of KGF on the barrier function of epithelial monolayers exposed to H(2)O(2). Calu-3 (human airway epithelial cells) were grown on Transwell membranes, and the permeability to fluorescein isothiocyanate-albumin was measured. Exposure to 0.5 mM H(2)O(2) significantly increased permeability from 1.50 +/- 0.09 to 24.8 +/- 1.5 (mean +/- SE x 10(-6) cm/s; P < 0.001). Incubation of monolayers with 50 ng/ml KGF for 24 h significantly reduced basal albumin flux (0.85 +/- 0.09; P < 0.001), and pretreatment with KGF completely abolished the H(2)O(2)-induced permeability increase (1.08 +/- 0.09). The protective effect of KGF was dose dependent and was observed at concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml. Partial amelioration of the H(2)O(2)-induced permeability increase occurred after 1 h of exposure to KGF. Treatment of cells with calphostin C, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), had no effect on the permeability of control or H(2)O(2)-treated cells. Calphostin C abolished both the KGF-mediated decrease in basal albumin flux and the protective effect of KGF against H(2)O(2)-induced increases in permeability. KGF pretreatment also prevented H(2)O(2)-induced disruption of F-actin staining patterns, suggesting stabilization of the cytoskeleton. These studies demonstrate that KGF decreases albumin flux across airway epithelial monolayers and prevents H(2)O(2)-induced increases in permeability by a PKC-dependent process that may involve stabilization of the cytoskeleton.