Effect of inhalation of single dose of beclomethasone on airway epithelium.

Inhaled corticosteroids are being recommended for the treatment of bronchial asthma for their anti-inflammatory properties and reduction of airway hyperreactivity. The first tissue coming to the contact with all inhaled substances is the airway epithelium. In this experiment, the immediate effect of a single MDI dose of beclomethasone on the ultrastructure of the tracheal and bronchiolar epithelium was studied.

Acute and chronic hypoxia as well as 7-day recovery from chronic hypoxia affects the distribution of pulmonary mast cells and their MMP-13 expression in rats.

Chronic hypoxia results in pulmonary hypertension due to vasoconstriction and structural remodelling of peripheral lung blood vessels. We hypothesize that vascular remodelling is initiated in the walls of prealveolar pulmonary arteries by collagenolytic metalloproteinases (MMP) released from activated mast cells. Distribution of mast cells and their expression of interstitial collagenase, MMP-13, in lung conduit, small muscular, and prealveolar arteries was determined quantitatively in rats exposed for 4 and 20 days to hypoxia as well as after 7-day recovery from 20-day hypoxia (10% O2).

Local administration of 2% trimecaine affects the content of fucosylated glycoconjugates in goblet cells in rabbit tracheal epithelium.

The proportion of fucosylated glycoconjugate-containing rabbit tracheal goblet cells after intratracheal application of trimecaine was studied to evaluate its possible unfavourable effects. This lapine model is comparable with diagnostic findings in humans because airway epithelia in humans and rabbits are similar; tracheal epithelium is also practically identical to bronchial epithelium in both species. Local trimecaine anaesthesia caused a proportional decrease in percentage of the tracheal goblet cells containing both alpha(1-2)- and alpha(1-6)-, alpha(1-3)- and alpha(1-4)-fucosylated glycoconjugates as revealed 10 min postexposure using lectin histochemistry.

The effects of intravenously administered methylxanthines on the proportion of goblet cells containing fucosylated glycoconjugates in rabbit tracheal epithelium.

The proportion of goblet cells containing various fucosylated glycoconjugates was evaluated with the use of lectin histochemistry in rabbit tracheal epithelium at 15 and 30 min after intravenous administration of either aminophylline (Syntophyllin) or a mixture of etophylline and theophylline (Oxantil). Methylxanthine derivatives are nonspecific inhibitors of phosphodiesterases that are used to treat bronchial asthma; the proportion of fucosylated glycoconjugates strongly affects rheologic properties of respiratory tract mucus. It is concluded that administration of Syntophyllin dramatically lowered the proportion of goblet cells containing fucosylated glycoconjugates in rabbit tracheal epithelium, especially at 30 min after exposure.