Local production of oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide in rat diaphragm during sepsis: effects of pentoxifylline and somatostatin.

Objective: To investigate the effect of giving lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on lipid peroxidation, and myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitric oxide (NO) synthase, and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities in rat diaphragm, and see whether they could be modified by giving pentoxifylline (PTXF) or somatostatin.

Design: Randomised experimental study.

Setting: Teaching hospital, Spain.

Effect of pentoxifylline on the inhibition of surfactant synthesis induced by TNF-alpha in human type II pneumocytes.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This study was designed to determine the effect of TNF-alpha and pentoxifylline (PTXF) on surfactant synthesis by isolated human type II pneumocytes. In order to isolate the pneumocytes, lungs obtained from both previously healthy multiple organ donors (n = 11) and patients who underwent surgical excision for lung cancer (n = 8) were used.