PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Hosford

Publications and source records attributed to D Hosford.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Platelet-activating factor in septic shock.

Septic shock induced by endotoxins of Gram-negative bacteria, or toxins of Gram-positive bacteria and fungi, deserves particular interest because of its high mortality rate. In experimental animals, treatment with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin of Gram-negative bacteria) mimics the symptoms of septic shock. Thus, this treatment has become an important method in animal models of septic shock. Endotoxin induces release of platelet-activating factor and cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukins. Platelet-activating factor derived from macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and platelets is a potent phospholipid inflammatory mediator that increases cell adhesion and activates endothelial cells by direct effect or through formation of toxic oxygen species and arachidonic acid metabolites, such as thromboxane A2 and leukotriene B4. Platelet-activating factor interacts with cytokines, and this interaction leads to an autocatalytic amplification of inflammatory mediator release. The release of inflammatory mediators by interaction of platelet-activating factor with cytokines is characterized by bell-shaped concentration-effect curves. For example, in a certain concentration range, platelet-activating factor or cytokines induce a mediator release that is proportional to the stimulation. However, over-stimulation may lead to a decrease of mediator release or a prevalence of the release of a single mediator. Down-regulatory processes may be brought about by platelet-activating factor-induced prostacyclin or adenosine release that activates adenylate cyclase and increases intracellular cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate concentrations. Down-regulation may protect inflammatory and endothelial cells from overstimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effect of platelet-activating factor on tumor necrosis factor-induced superoxide generation from human neutrophils. Possible involvement of G proteins.

The effect of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and of two specific PAF antagonists on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induced superoxide production by human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) was examined. PAF alone (0.1 pM to 0.1 nM) failed to evoke superoxide production; however, when PAF was added for 10 min to cells upon prior incubation with 10 ng/mL TNF for 50 min, superoxide production was significantly enhanced as compared to that induced by TNF alone. Maximum amplification (+30%) was obtained with 10 pM PAF; however, the effect was completely abolished by two structurally unrelated PAF antagonists, BN 52021 and BN 52111. The antagonists also decreased by 25% the superoxide production elicited solely by TNF, implicating the involvement of endogenous PAF in this process. Pretreatment of the PMN with either pertussis or cholera toxin attenuated the PAF amplified superoxide production in TNF stimulated cells, suggesting that G proteins sensitive to these toxins may be involved in the mechanisms controlling amplification.

Cholera Toxin↗
PubMed1991

PAF receptor and "Cache-oreilles" effect. Simple PAF antagonists.

Nine simple and structurally flexible PAF antagonists were synthesized and their inhibitory effects on PAF induced platelet aggregation were measured. Compounds with PAF antagonistic activity exhibited a negative electrostatic potential generated by two trimethoxyphenyl groups (isocontour at -10 Kcal/mole) at various distances between the negative clouds. The optimal distance between the atoms generating the "cache-oreilles" system for exhibiting potent PAF antagonistic activity is estimated to be 11-13 A. In the flexible molecules studied, the dispersion of the electronic distribution is not necessarily favorable for anti-PAF activity. The data support the simple bipolarized model for the PAF receptor that has been proposed by the authors.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Ethnopharmacology and the development of natural PAF antagonists as therapeutic agents.

Ginkgolides are unique twenty-carbon terpenes, occurring naturally only in the roots and leaves of Ginkgo biloba. The molecules incorporate a tert-butyl group and six 5-membered rings, and are specific and potent antagonists of platelet-activating factor (PAF), a potent inflammatory autacoid. Studies in animal models with the most potent ginkgolide, BN 52021, and other specific PAF antagonists have demonstrated that PAF plays an important role in pathologies such as asthma, shock, ischemia, anaphylaxis, graft rejection, renal disease, CNS disorders and numerous inflammatory conditions. Ginkgolides are now being developed as therapeutic agents and very promising results have been obtained in clinical trials on shock, organ preservation and thermal injury. In addition to ginkgolides, several other types of natural PAF antagonists have been identified from various medicinal plants. These compounds have not only helped to explain the pharmacological basis of several traditional medicines, but have also provided man with a valuable new class of therapeutic agents.

Diterpenes↗
PubMed1991

Effect of BN 50739, a new platelet activating factor antagonist, on ischaemia induced ventricular arrhythmias in isolated working rat hearts.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the role of platelet activating factor (PAF) in myocardial ischaemia by using BN 50739, a new specific PAF receptor antagonist with a hetrazepine framework. DESIGN: Isolated working rat hearts were subjected to regional ischaemia, induced by ligation of the left main coronary artery for 30 min, followed by reperfusion. BN 50739 was applied at concentrations of 10(-7), 10(-6), 10(-5) and 5 X 10(-5) M, and its effects on the incidence of ischaemia induced and reperfusion induced ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation and heart functions, such as heart rate, coronary flow, aortic flow, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), its first derivative (LVdP/dtmax), and left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP), were determined. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL: Studies were performed on isolated working hearts of male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300-360 g. Hearts were perfused with BN 50739 dissolved in dimethylsulphoxide. Control hearts were perfused with the vehicle. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Regional ischaemia triggered ventricular arrhythmias showing high incidence between 12 and 20 min with peak appearance at 16 min. BN 50739 induced dose dependent protection against ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation: incidences declined from their respective control values of 91% and 75% to 33% (p less than 0.05) and 8% (p less than 0.05) after exposure to 10(-5) M, and to 25% (p less than 0.05) and 8% (p less than 0.05) after exposure to 5 X 10(-5) M concentrations. Reperfusion of the ischaemic myocardium resulted in an immediate appearance of ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, but these were not suppressed by the PAF antagonist. Regional ischaemia slightly reduced heart rate, markedly decreased coronary flow, aortic flow, LVDP and LVdP/dtmax, and increased LVEDP. With the exception of LVEDP, these variables were not influenced by the drug. BN 50739, applied at a concentration of 5 X 10(-5) M, reduced LVEDP significantly during the whole ischaemic period. CONCLUSIONS: Under in vitro conditions PAF is likely to be involved in the genesis of ischaemia induced ventricular arrhythmias since BN 50739, a specific PAF receptor antagonist, exerts a protective effect against these rhythm disturbances. This suggests that PAF antagonists may have benefit in the clinical management of acute myocardial ischaemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Platelet activating factor (PAF). A review of its effects, antagonists and possible future clinical implications (Part I).

This review is an attempt to summarise recent data on platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF antagonists from 1988 to the present. This period saw a burst in research activity focused predominantly on the effect of PAF in various organs. The effect of PAF and its antagonists was further intensively studied in vitro on isolated platelets, leucocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells. From these and earlier data, based on the catastrophe theory of Thom and Zeeman, a new concept on the interaction between PAF and various cytokines could be recognised as an important mechanism of action of the phospholipid mediator, suggesting the existence of an autocatalytic feedback network through which PAF can influence cellular function under certain pathophysiological conditions. This mechanism can be regarded as the culmination of our recent knowledge on the role of PAF, and may influence the possible clinical implications of PAF antagonists in the near future. It is recognised that PAF is released in shock and ischaemic states, and that PAF antagonists can protect the heart and brain against ischaemic injury. Therefore, in contrast to the previous period, which was predominantly devoted to the elucidation of the role of PAF in immediate hypersensitivity reactions, studies performed on cerebral, myocardial and intestinal ischaemia as well as in various shock conditions have concentrated on entirely new aspects of the effect of PAF antagonists, emphasising the significance of the inflammatory process and cell-to-cell interactions in these pathophysiological states. This has led to a re-evaluation of the experimental data previously accumulated. At the same time, these new trends in PAF and PAF antagonist research have explored further possibilities for the application of PAF antagonists in clinical practice. Attention has been focused on the physiological role of PAF as a signal molecule, especially between the neuroendocrine system and related sensory organs. The recognition of the significance of PAF in mammalian reproduction is fascinating and may lead to new clinical applications of PAF antagonists. It appears probable that, like eicosanoids, PAF is involved in a great variety of membrane-dependent processes that play a fundamental role in the maintenance of homeostasis. PAF research has provided several potent natural and synthetic antagonists which may facilitate the clinical application of these drugs in the near future.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the PAF-antagonist (BN 52021) reduce small intestinal damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion.

Oxygenated free-radicals appear to play a prominent role in mediating damage associated with gastrointestinal diseases. Production of reactive oxygen metabolites in ischemia-reperfusion involves oxidases found in resident phagocytic cells and microvascular and mucosal epithelial cells. Platelet activating factor (PAF), a phospholipid associated with inflammatory disorders, has been shown to both prime and amplify the release of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide from polymorphonuclear neutrophils and macrophages stimulated by FMLP or PMA. To further elucidate the involvement of free radicals in intestinal damage and the potential role of PAF in their production, we examined the effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and BN 52021 (ginkgolide B) on ischemia-reperfusion induced damage in the small intestine. The study involved 32 Sprague-Dawley rats (100-200 g) divided into four groups. Three of these groups were subjected to occlusion of the mesenteric artery 30 mins followed by 24 h reperfusion. On 2 groups SOD (15,000 U/kg/iv) and BN 52021 (20 mg/kg/po) were administered 45 mins before arterial occlusion. Following the 24 h reperfusion, the rats were sacrificed after overnight fasting. The jejunum and ileon were removed and fixed for morphological examination. Lesions in the small intestine were quantified. The results showed extensive necrosis, hemorrhage, oedema and neutrophil invasion in the jejunal and ileal mucosa. This injury was significantly reduced by SOD (15,000 U/kg/iv) and BN 52021 (20 mg/kg/po) pretreatment. In conclusion, free-oxygenated radicals appear to mediate reperfusion damage in the small intestine and PAF appears to be involved in the genesis of these toxic products. Thus, SOD and BN 52021 may be considered as protectors against ischemic disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Tumor necrosis factor alpha 'primes' the platelet-activating factor-induced superoxide production by human neutrophils: possible involvement of G proteins.

It has recently been demonstrated that very low concentrations of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and various cytokines can prime human neutrophils (PMN) to respond in an enhanced manner to subsequent agonistic stimulation. We were interested to ascertain whether superoxide generation by human PMN could be amplified by PAF following initial stimulation with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and the effect of cholera and pertussis toxin on this process. PAF alone (0.1 pM-0.1 nM) failed to evoke any superoxide production; however, when PAF was added for 10 min to cells previously incubated for 50 min with 10 ng/ml TNF, superoxide production was significantly enhanced relative to that induced by TNF alone. Maximum amplification (+30%) was obtained with 10(-12) M PAF, this effect being completely abolished by BN 52021 and BN 52111, two structurally unrelated PAF antagonists. The PAF antagonists also decreased by 25% the superoxide production elicited solely by TNF, indicating that TNF-induced superoxide generation is partially mediated by a mechanism involving endogenous PAF. Pretreatment of the PMN with pertussis or cholera toxin reduced the amplification of superoxide production induced by PAF in TNF-stimulated PMN, implicating pertussis and cholera toxin-sensitive G-proteins in the amplification process.

Cholera Toxin↗
PubMed1990

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) and PAF antagonists in asthma.

PAF is produced by and activates inflammatory cells, such as monocytes/macrophages, mast cells, platelets, neutrophils, eosinophils and endothelial cells. Its ability to imitate anaphylaxis, inducing for instance bronchoconstriction (BC) in guinea-pigs, and its identification (and/or that of lyso-PAF) in exudates from shocked lungs, led to the hypothesis that PAF is involved in immediate hypersensitivity. Recent results of Bachelet et al. show that PAF reduces the increased cyclic AMP content of guinea-pig alveolar cell population exposed to PGE2, salbutamol or isoprenaline, which agrees with its hypothesized stimulating role in conditions where increased cyclic AMP may reduce mediator release. PAF antagonists are usually selected with in vitro platelet tests and their in vivo activity is characterized in normal animals. Recent data of Pretolani et al. demonstrate nevertheless that the antagonists may lose part of their ability to inhibit PAF itself if tested on lungs from actively sensitized guinea-pigs. These lungs differ from those of passively sensitized or of naive animals in that they become hyper-responsive to mediators (PAF, leukotriene D4 [LTD4], histamine, arachidonate [AA]): BC and formation of thromboxane A2 are enhanced, and histamine is released dose-dependently under conditions where it is absent from perfusates from LTD4, AA or PAF-stimulated naive lungs. Peripheral inflammatory cells (basophils, eosinophils, monocytes) are possibly recruited into the lungs of the actively sensitized animals sometime during the second and/or third week of sensitization, and provide a new target which may account for the enhanced lung responsiveness. Ultra-structural studies of Lellouch-Tubiana et al. (abstract in this meeting) support this concept. Neither the primary target nor the chemotactic substance responsible for the reported modifications are identified, but recent data of Bachelet et al, showing that alveolar populations from actively sensitized guinea-pigs are less responsive to the cyclic AMP stimulating effects of PGE2, salbutamol or isoprenaline suggest the existence of a cell defect which may be important for the triggering of allergen-induced BC and cell recruitment. Our present concept involves a "pre-inflamed" lung in actively sensitized guinea-pigs and in human asthmatics, a stand-by process following sensitization and which is revealed following the activation of a target cell. This may be the alveolar macrophage which releases substances (PAF, TXA2, IL1) likely to start BC and protracted cell recruitment and activation.

Animals↗