Ethanol treatment reduces bovine bronchial epithelial cell migration.

Background: Chronic ethanol abuse is associated with significant lung disease. Excessive alcohol intake increases risk for a variety of respiratory tract diseases, including pneumonia and bronchitis. Damage to airway epithelium is critical to the pathogenesis of airway disorders such as chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Activation of protein kinase A accelerates bovine bronchial epithelial cell migration.

Bronchial epithelial cell migration is required for the repair of damaged airway epithelium. We hypothesized that bronchial epithelial cell migration during wound repair is influenced by cAMP and the activity of its cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase A (PKA). We found that, when confluent monolayers of bronchial epithelial cells are wounded, an increase in PKA activity occurs.

Prostaglandin E(2) inhibits fibroblast chemotaxis.

Fibroblasts are the major source of extracellular connective tissue matrix, and the recruitment, accumulation, and stimulation of these cells are thought to play important roles in both normal healing and the development of fibrosis. Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) can inhibit this process by blocking fibroblast proliferation and collagen production. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of PGE(2) on human plasma fibronectin (hFN)- and bovine bronchial epithelial cell-conditioned medium (BBEC-CM)-induced chemotaxis of human fetal lung fibroblasts (HFL1).

Persistence of TGF-beta1 induction of increased fibroblast contractility.

Fibroblast contraction of collagen gels is regarded as a model of wound contraction. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta added to such gels can augment contraction consistent with its suggested role as a mediator of fibrotic repair. Since fibroblasts isolated from fibrotic tissues have been suggested to express a "fibrotic phenotype," we hypothesized that TGF-beta exposure may lead to a persistent increase in fibroblasts' contractility.

Human bronchial epithelial cells can contract type I collagen gels.

Fibroblasts can contract collagen gels, a process thought to be related to tissue remodeling. Because epithelial cells are also involved in repair responses, we postulated that human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) could cause contraction of collagen gels. To evaluate this, HBECs were plated on the top of native type I collagen gels and were incubated for 48 h.

Stimulation of protein kinase C activity by tumor necrosis factor-alpha in bovine bronchial epithelial cells.

Bronchial epithelial cell migration, attachment, and proliferation are important processes in response to airway injury. We have shown that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha stimulates the migration of bovine bronchial epithelial cells (BBEC) in vitro. We hypothesized that protein kinase C (PKC) may be one of the intracellular signaling mediators of TNF-alpha in BBEC.

Effects of cigarette smoke extract on bovine bronchial epithelial cell attachment and migration.

The repair of injured epithelium involves a complex interaction between epithelial cells and the underlying extracellular matrix. We studied the effects of sublethal concentrations of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and two volatile components of cigarette smoke, acetaldehyde and acrolein, on bovine bronchial epithelial cell (BBEC) attachment and migration in vitro. After short-term exposure (2 and 6 h) to CSE, BBEC attachment to fibronectin-coated dishes was decreased, and migration to fibronectin was unchanged.