Dexamethasone fails to improve bleomycin-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) features an exudative phase characterized by alveolar damage, lung edema and exacerbated inflammatory response. Given their anti-inflammatory properties, the potential therapeutic effect of corticosteroids has been evaluated in ARDS clinical trials and experimental models of ALI. These studies produced contradictory results.

Post-Transcriptional Modulation of aENaC mRNA in Alveolar Epithelial Cells: Involvement of its 3' Untranslated Region.

Background/aims: The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) expressed in alveolar epithelial cells plays a major role in lung liquid clearance at birth and lung edema resorption in adulthood. We showed previously that αENaC mRNA expression is downregulated in part via posttranscriptional regulation of mRNA stability. In the present work, the role of the αENaC 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) in the regulation of mRNA stability was studied further.

Cycloheximide and lipopolysaccharide downregulate αENaC mRNA via different mechanisms in alveolar epithelial cells.

Active Na(+) transport mediated by epithelial Na(+) channel (ENaC) is vital for fetal lung fluid reabsorption at birth and pulmonary edema resolution. Previously, we demonstrated that αENaC expression and activity are downregulated in alveolar epithelial cells by cycloheximide (Chx) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The regulatory mechanisms of αENaC mRNA expression by Chx and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from P.