Gas gangrene-associated gliding motility is regulated by the Clostridium perfringens CpAL/VirSR system.

Clostridium perfringens strains cause a wide variety of human and animal disease, including gas gangrene or myonecrosis. Production of toxins required for myonecrosis, PFO and CPA, is regulated by the C. perfringens Agr-like (CpAL) system via the VirSR two-component system.

Knockout Mice Reveal a Major Role for Alveolar Epithelial Type I Cells in Alveolar Fluid Clearance.

Active ion transport by basolateral Na-K-ATPase (Na pump) creates an Na(+) gradient that drives fluid absorption across lung alveolar epithelium. The α1 and β1 subunits are the most highly expressed Na pump subunits in alveolar epithelial cells (AEC). The specific contribution of the β1 subunit and the relative contributions of alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) versus type I (AT1) cells to alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) were investigated using two cell type-specific mouse knockout lines in which the β1 subunit was knocked out in either AT1 cells or both AT1 and AT2 cells.

Knockout mice reveal key roles for claudin 18 in alveolar barrier properties and fluid homeostasis.

Claudin proteins are major constituents of epithelial and endothelial tight junctions (TJs) that regulate paracellular permeability to ions and solutes. Claudin 18, a member of the large claudin family, is highly expressed in lung alveolar epithelium. To elucidate the role of claudin 18 in alveolar epithelial barrier function, we generated claudin 18 knockout (C18 KO) mice.

Fetal lung epithelial ion channels relocate in the cell membrane during late gestation.

Near the end of gestation, the direction of ion and fluid flow across the alveolar epithelium rapidly changes from secretion to absorption. Thus, the relative cell membrane location of epithelial Na channels (ENaCs) and cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) Cl channels during late fetal lung development and after maternal interleukin-1β (IL-1β) pretreatment was the focus of our study. Western blot analysis after sucrose gradient separation of caveolin-1-(Cav-1)-rich membrane regions (CRR) and Cav-1-poor membrane (non-CRR) revealed primary CRR ENaC localization at gestation day (GD) 61 in guinea pigs.

Lung fluid absorption is induced in preterm guinea pigs ventilated with low tidal volumes.

The objective of this study was to determine if low tidal volume (V(t)) ventilation was beneficial when ventilating preterm fetuses. The authors ventilated preterm guinea pig fetuses at gestation day (GD) 67, 3 days before birth, newborn, and 10-day-old (PD10) guinea pigs with low V(t) (6 mL/kg body weight [bw]) and compared them to age-matched fetuses/animals ventilated with higher potentially injurious V(t) (12 mL/kg bw). Lung fluid absorption was measured after intratracheal instillation of 5% albumin in 0.

Stimulation of MAP kinase pathways after maternal IL-1beta exposure induces fetal lung fluid absorption in guinea pigs.

Background: We tested the hypothesis that maternal interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) pretreatment and induction of fetal cortisol synthesis activates MAP kinases and thereby affects lung fluid absorption in preterm guinea pigs.

Methods: IL-1beta was administered subcutaneously daily to timed-pregnant guinea pigs for three days. Fetuses were obtained by abdominal hysterotomy and instilled with isosmolar 5% albumin into the lungs and lung fluid movement was measured over 1 h by mass balance.

A noninflammatory interleukin-1beta fragment stimulates fetal lung fluid absorption in guinea pigs.

We have previously demonstrated that full-length interleukin (IL)-1beta can induce and stimulate lung fluid absorption in near-term guinea pig fetuses via stimulation of fetal cortisol synthesis and release. To develop a potentially clinically useful drug, we tested the hypothesis that maternal administration of a noninflammatory IL-1beta-fragment (IL-1beta(Fr)) induced cortisol synthesis and stimulated lung fluid absorption in preterm fetuses. IL-1beta(Fr) was administered s.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia prevents absorption of distal air space fluid in late-gestation rat fetuses.

We hypothesized that congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) may decrease distal air space fluid absorption due to immaturity of alveolar epithelial cells from a loss of the normal epithelial Na+ transport, as assessed by amiloride and epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) and Na-K-ATPase expression, as well as failure to respond to endogenous epinephrine as assessed by propranolol. Timed-pregnant dams were gavage fed 100 mg of nitrofen at 9.5-day gestation to induce CDH in the fetuses, and distal air space fluid absorption experiments were carried out on 22-day gestation (term) fetuses.