Zymosan priming protects rats against pulmonary oxygen toxicity: characterization of the model.

This laboratory previously reported that zymosan priming protects rats against pulmonary oxygen toxicity. That study used a standard priming protocol (3 daily intravenous injections [15 mg zymosan/rat] with 2 days' rest) before hyperoxia. This study confirms that report and more fully characterizes the zymosan priming model.

Failure of juice or juice extract from the noni plant (Morinda citrifolia) to protect rats against oxygen toxicity.

Noni juice possesses antioxidant activity and prevents superoxide-mediated tissue injury in laboratory animals. A polysaccharide-rich precipitate of noni juice (noni-ppt) also stimulates tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 1 (IL-1) in mice. Endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) stimulates TNF and IL-1 in rats and protects against superoxide-mediated oxygen toxicity.

Ginkgo biloba extract prevents high altitude pulmonary edema in rats.

Ginkgo biloba reduces the severity of acute mountain sickness in humans, but protection against high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) has not been reported. This study was conducted to determine if G. biloba would prevent early HAPE in rats.

Carbonic anhydrase in mammalian vascular smooth muscle.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is ubiquitously expressed and plays a pivotal role in acid-base balance, ion transport, and gas exchange. Limited observations by others, derived from functional, pharmacological, and histochemical studies, suggest that CA is present in vascular smooth muscle and is involved in vasoregulation. The present study, using measurements of bioactivity, inhibition characteristics, and immunohistochemical analysis, was undertaken to more fully evaluate CA in vascular smooth muscle.

Inhibitors of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction prevent high-altitude pulmonary edema in rats.

Objective: Rapid ascent to high altitude causes hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and leads to high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) in susceptible humans. Vasodilating agents lessen HAPE (as evidenced by radiographic and gas exchange measurements), but data establishing their effectiveness on alveolar protein content and hemorrhage are lacking. This study was designed to assess whether preventing HPV reduces the alveolar-capillary barrier leak characteristic of HAPE.