Whole-body periodic acceleration modifies experimental asthma in sheep.

Rationale: Nitric oxide is released from vascular endothelium in response to increased pulsatile shear stress. Nitric oxide inhibits mast cell activation and is antiinflammatory and therefore might be protective in asthma.

Objectives: We determined if a noninvasive motion platform that imparts periodic sinusoidal inertial forces to the whole body along the spinal axis (pGz) causing release of endothelial nitric oxide modulates experimental asthma in sheep.

Leukocytic cell sources of airway tissue kallikrein.

Lung tissue kallikrein (TK) is a serine proteinase that putatively plays a role in the pathophysiology of asthma by generating kallidin and bradykinin, mediators that contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness. In previous studies we observed biphasic increases in TK activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid following airway allergen challenge in allergic sheep. Although glandular TK is likely a major source of the initial increase in TK, the sources of the late increases in TK that are associated with the development of airway hyperresponsiveness may be dependent on activated resident and recruited inflammatory cells including alveolar macrophages (AMs) and neutrophils (PMNs).

Recombinant alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor blocks antigen- and mediator-induced airway responses in sheep.

Alpha(1)-proteinase inhibitor (alpha(1)-PI) is a natural serine protease inhibitor. Although mainly thought to protect the airways from neutrophil elastase, alpha(1)-PI may also regulate the development of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), as indicated by our previous findings of an inverse relationship between lung alpha(1)-PI activity and the severity of antigen-induced AHR. Because allergic stimulation of the airways causes release of elastase, tissue kallikrein, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), all of which can reduce alpha(1)-PI activity and contribute to AHR, we hypothesized that administration of exogenous alpha(1)-PI should protect against pathophysiological airway responses caused by these agents.

Inhaled porcine pancreatic elastase causes bronchoconstriction via a bradykinin-mediated mechanism.

Neutrophil elastase has been linked to inflammatory lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, adult respiratory distress syndrome, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis. In guinea pigs, aerosol challenge with human neutrophil elastase causes bronchoconstriction, but the mechanism by which this occurs is not completely understood. Our laboratory previously showed that human neutrophil elastase releases tissue kallikrein (TK) from cultured tracheal gland cells.

A small-molecule, tight-binding inhibitor of the integrin alpha(4)beta(1) blocks antigen-induced airway responses and inflammation in experimental asthma in sheep.

The leukocyte integrin very late antigen-4 (alpha(4)beta(1), CD49d/CD29) is an adhesion receptor that plays an important role in allergic inflammation and contributes to antigen-induced late responses (LAR) and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). In this study, we show that single doses of a new small-molecule, tight-binding inhibitor of alpha(4), BIO-1211, whether given by aerosol or intravenously, either before or 1.5 h after antigen challenge blocks allergen- induced LAR and post-antigen-induced AHR in allergic sheep.

The lactoperoxidase system functions in bacterial clearance of airways.

Airway mucus is a complex mixture of secretory products that provides a multifaceted defense against pulmonary infection. Mucus contains antimicrobial peptides (e.g.

Bronchial tissue kallikrein activity is regulated by hyaluronic acid binding.

Tissue kallikrein (TK) is secreted by serous cells of tracheobronchial submucosal glands and plays a role in allergic airway responses. To better understand the regulation of TK, we used primary cultures of submucosal gland cells that release TK upon stimulation. Media from cultures stimulated with chymase (10(-7) M) showed increased TK activity (0.

Selectin blockade prevents antigen-induced late bronchial responses and airway hyperresponsiveness in allergic sheep.

Antigen challenge can elicit an allergic inflammatory response in the airways that involves eosinophils, basophils, and neutrophils and that is expressed physiologically as a late airway response (LAR) and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Although previous studies have suggested that E-selectin participates in these allergic airway responses, there is little information concerning the role of L-selectin. To address this question, we examined the effects of administering an L-selectin-specific monoclonal antibody, DU1-29, as well as three small molecule selectin binding inhibitors, on the development of early airway responses (EAR), LAR and AHR in allergic sheep undergoing airway challenge with Ascaris suum antigen.

Mechanism of pyocyanin- and 1-hydroxyphenazine-induced lung neutrophilia in sheep airways.

Pyocyanin (Pyo) and 1-hydroxyphenazine (1-HP) are extracellular products of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To test whether these products were capable of producing an inflammatory response in the airways, combinations of Pyo and 1-HP at concentrations of 10(-4) and 10(-5) M were instilled into sheep airways, and indexes of inflammation were assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) 24 h later. Challenge with the phenazines caused a significant dose-dependent increase in the number of cells and neutrophils recovered by BAL.

Elastase contributes to antigen-induced mucociliary dysfunction in ovine airways.

Antigen-induced bronchoconstriction is associated with impairment of mucociliary clearance with a time course that is consistent with the initial influx of neutrophils into the airway. In this study we tested the hypothesis that elastase released from activated neutrophils contributes to the acute (0 to 6-hr) antigen-induced mucociliary dysfunction. Tracheal mucous velocity CTMV), an index of mucociliary function, was measured with a roentgenographic technique before and serially after airway challenge with Ascaris suum antigen alone, or after pretreatment with aerosolized alpha1-protease inhibitor (alpha1-PI, 10 mg) or the specific neutrophil elastase inhibitor ICI 200,355 (10 mg).

Scavenging of reactive oxygen species by a glycolipid fraction of Mycobacterium avium serovar 2.

Previous experiments indicated that MIF-A3, a peptidoglycolipid extracted from Mycobacterium avium serovar 2 (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis 18), inhibits the killing of Candida albicans by activated bovine peripheral blood-derived macrophages and murine thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages in vitro. Subsequent in vitro data from our laboratory indicated that this reduction in killing may be related to the ability of MIF-A3 to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study we examined this hypothesis directly by determining if MIF-A3 reduced exogenous H2O2-induced candidacidal activity.

Extracellular metabolites of Pseudomonas aeruginosa produce bronchoconstriction by different mechanisms.

Bacterial supernatants (BS) obtained from broth cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cause bronchoconstriction in sheep, suggesting that BS contain proinflammatory metabolites. In this study we investigated the mechanism(s) responsible for this bronchial effect. BS were obtained from 48 h cultures and sterilized by filtration.

Alpha 4-integrins mediate antigen-induced late bronchial responses and prolonged airway hyperresponsiveness in sheep.

Eosinophils and T lymphocytes are thought to be involved in allergic airway inflammation. Both cells express the alpha 4 beta 1-integrin, very late antigen-4 (VLA-4, CD49d/CD29); alpha 4-integrins can promote cellular adhesion and activation. Therefore, we examined the in vivo effects of a blocking anti-alpha 4 monoclonal antibody, HP 1/2, on antigen-induced early and late bronchial responses, airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory cell influx, and peripheral leukocyte counts in allergic sheep.

Lipid mediators contribute to oxygen-radical-induced airway responses in sheep.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the bronchoconstriction and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) resulting from aerosolized xanthine (x; 0.1%)-xanthine oxidase (xo; 4.1 U) and the subsequent production of oxygen radicals is mediated by the secondary generation of lipid mediators.

Effects of P. aeruginosa-derived bacterial products on tracheal ciliary function: role of O2 radicals.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of bacterial products derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the function of airway cilia and to assess the role of phagocytes and oxygen radicals in the observed responses. Ciliary beat frequency (CBF) was measured in a perfusion chamber with a microscopic technique using tracheal epithelial cells obtained from normal sheep by brush biopsy (70% epithelial cells, 18% macrophages, 11% neutrophils). Baseline CBF ranged between 678 and 1,126 min-1.

Heterologous transplantation of activated murine peritoneal macrophages inhibits gamete interaction in vivo: a paradigm for endometriosis-associated subfertility.

Macrophage hyperactivation has been postulated to be the pathologic aberration in patients suffering from endometriosis-associated subfertility. In this report an in vivo model for macrophage-mediated infertility is described. Populations of macrophages were obtained from an inbred strain of mice (Balb/C) as follows: (1) in vivo hyperactivated macrophages (harvested from donor mice treated with intraperitoneal thioglycolate); (2) hyperactivated macrophages deactivated ex vivo with the protein synthesis inhibitor emetine; and (3) basal state (nonactivated) macrophages obtained from untreated mice.

Cellular LTB4 production differs in allergic sheep with and without late airway responses.

We tested the hypothesis that allergic sheep that develop both early and late airway responses to inhaled Ascaris suum antigen (late responders) have an increased capacity to generate leukotrienes (LTs) compared with allergic sheep that show only early responses to inhaled antigen (acute responders). To test this hypothesis, we measured LTB4 production, in vitro, by granulocytes isolated from peripheral blood and by macrophages isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from both groups of sheep greater than or equal to 2 wk after the animal's last antigen challenge; LTB4 production by granulocytes isolated from BAL from both groups of sheep 6 and 48 h after local airway challenge with A. suum antigen was also measured.

Lectin-detectable effects of localized pneumonia on airway mucous cell populations: role of cyclooxygenase metabolites.

We examined the airway secretory apparatus of adult sheep with experimental pneumonia to look for morphologic and lectin-binding correlates of increased mucus production. The animals were inoculated in the right caudal lobar bronchus either with starch broth containing Pasteurella haemolytica (INF, n = 6), starch broth alone (SHAM, n = 6), or with P. haemolytica and subsequently treated (INF/T, n = 5) with 2 mg/kg indomethacin, subcutaneously three times daily for 6 days.

Bacterial pneumonia stimulates macromolecule secretion and ion and water fluxes in sheep trachea.

In vivo instillation of Pasteurella haemolytica (greater than or equal to 10(7) colony-forming units/kg) into a lobar bronchus of sheep produced bacterial pneumonia by 7 days postinoculation. Infection was verified bacteriologically and histologically. Macromolecule secretion and ion and water fluxes were subsequently measured in tracheal tissues in vitro and were compared with values from sham-infected sheep.

Effect of atropine on tracheal mucociliary clearance and bacterial counts.

The purpose of this study was to determine if atropine, which has been shown to alter mucosal function, prolongs the persistence of inhaled bacteria in the trachea. In conscious sheep, bacterial counts in the trachea were determined by quantitative sterile brush cultures obtained before and serially after a controlled inhalation challenge with an aerosolized solution containing P. hemolytica (10(8) CFU X ml-1).

Excretion of cefamandole, cefazolin, and cephalothin into T-tube bile.

The biliary tract excretion of cefamandole, cefazolin, and cephalothin was measured in eight patients with T-tubes inserted into their common ducts after ductal exploration for biliary tract stones. Each patient received 1.0 g intravenously of each cephalosporin on 3 separate days; T-tube bile and serum were collected at selected time intervals thereafter.

Effect of sodium cyanate upon the function of normal human polymorphonuclaer leukocytes.

Sodium cyanate, a drug that prevents sickling of hemoglobin S by virtue of its irreversible carbamylation of the N-terminal amino group of valine, was studied for its effect upon the function of normal human polymorphonuclear luekocytes. In concentrations of 500 and 100 mug/ml, sodium cyanate was found to inhibit killing by neutrophils of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Eschierichia coli but not of Streptococcus faecalis. Viability of cells and phagocytosis were not affected by cyanate; however, production of [14-C] carbon dioxide from [1-14-C] glucose and the iodination of 125-I during phagocytosis were significantly impaired.