Efficacy and safety of a novel nitric oxide generator for the treatment of neonatal pulmonary hypertension: Experimental and clinical studies.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a complex pathology resulting from a failure of the post-natal reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance leading to hypoxemia. The standard therapy is inhaled Nitric Oxide (NO) improving oxygenation but its availability is limited, especially in hospitals with restricted financial resources. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of a new device generating NO (TAS + PLUS), in three experimental piglet models of pulmonary hypertension (PH), and we later tested its application in a pilot study of newborn patients suffering from PPHN. Piglets with experimentally induced PH showed a decrease in pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) after breathing NO. Both acute and chronic exposure of piglets and rats did not cause any adverse effect in blood gas levels and biological parameters. A pilot study including 32 patients suffering from PPHN showed an increase in oxygen saturation (SatO2) and partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) leading to a decrease of Oxygenation Index (OI) after compassionate treatment with NO from TAS + PLUS device. The device showed effectiveness and safety both in experimental PH and in the clinical setting. Therefore, it represents an excellent alternative for PPHN management in conditions where commercial NO is unavailable.

A novel tumor necrosis factor-mediated mechanism of direct epithelial sodium channel activation.

RATIONALE: Alveolar liquid clearance is regulated by Na(+) uptake through the apically expressed epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and basolaterally localized Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in type II alveolar epithelial cells. Dysfunction of these Na(+) transporters during pulmonary inflammation can contribute to pulmonary edema. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we sought to determine the precise mechanism by which the TIP peptide, mimicking the lectin-like domain of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), stimulates Na(+) uptake in a homologous cell system in the presence or absence of the bacterial toxin pneumolysin (PLY). METHODS: We used a combined biochemical, electrophysiological, and molecular biological in vitro approach and assessed the physiological relevance of the lectin-like domain of TNF in alveolar liquid clearance in vivo by generating triple-mutant TNF knock-in mice that express a mutant TNF with deficient Na(+) uptake stimulatory activity. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: TIP peptide directly activates ENaC, but not the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, upon binding to the carboxy-terminal domain of the α subunit of the channel. In the presence of PLY, a mediator of pneumococcal-induced pulmonary edema, this binding stabilizes the ENaC-PIP2-MARCKS complex, which is necessary for the open probability conformation of the channel and preserves ENaC-α protein expression, by means of blunting the protein kinase C-α pathway. Triple-mutant TNF knock-in mice are more prone than wild-type mice to develop edema with low-dose intratracheal PLY, correlating with reduced pulmonary ENaC-α subunit expression. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate a novel TNF-mediated mechanism of direct ENaC activation and indicate a physiological role for the lectin-like domain of TNF in the resolution of alveolar edema during inflammation.

In vivo over-expression of interleukin-10 increases resistance to focal brain ischemia in mice.

Early studies showed that the administration of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL10) protects against permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in mice. In this study, transgenic mice expressing murine IL10 (IL10T) directed by the major histocompatibility complex Ea promoter were produced and used to explore the effect of chronically increased IL10 levels on MCAO-related molecular mechanisms. IL10 was over-expressed in astrocytes, microglia, and endothelial brain cells in IL10T compared with wild type mice. Four days following MCAO, IL10T mice showed a 40% reduction in infarct size which was associated to significantly reduced levels of active caspase 3 compared with wild type mice. Under basal conditions, anti-inflammatory factors such as nerve growth factor and GSH were up-regulated and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1beta was down-regulated in the brain of IL10T animals. In addition, these mice displayed increased basal GSH levels in microglial and endothelial cells as well as a marked increase in manganese superoxide dismutase in endothelial lining blood vessels. Following ischemia, IL10T mice showed a marked reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, and IL1beta. Our data indicate that constitutive IL10 over-expression is associated with a striking resistance to cerebral ischemia that may be attributed to changes in the basal redox properties of glial/endothelial cells.