Biomedical subjects

M F Lipscomb

Publications and source records attributed to M F Lipscomb.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Immunohistochemical detection of human basophils in postmortem cases of fatal asthma.

The role of human basophils in bronchial asthma has been hard to define. In this study, we used the basophil-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb), 2D7, in postmortem lung sections from individuals who die in status asthmaticus (fatal asthma [FA]) to determine if the pathology of FA is associated with an increase in basophil numbers in the lung. As controls, we used lung sections of patients who had a history of asthma but died from nonasthmatic causes (nonfatal asthma [NFA]) as well as patients with no history of asthma (control [C]). In lung sections from all three groups, basophils were scattered throughout the large and small airways, airway epithelium, submucosa, and alveolar walls. The numbers of basophils in the lungs of patients with FA ranged from 41 to 119 cells/mm(2), significantly more than the numbers of basophils in lungs from individuals with a history of asthma (NFA; 0 to 16 cells/ mm(2)) and in the control lungs (C; 0 to 13 cells/mm(2)). In contrast, CD45-positive cells were not significantly different in the airways of FA and NFA, although there were significant increases in the two groups compared with control subjects. In summary, basophil infiltration was significantly increased in lungs from individuals who died from asthma, supporting the hypothesis that basophils are involved in the pathogenesis of FA.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Eosinophils are a major source of nitric oxide-derived oxidants in severe asthma: characterization of pathways available to eosinophils for generating reactive nitrogen species.

Eosinophil recruitment and enhanced production of NO are characteristic features of asthma. However, neither the ability of eosinophils to generate NO-derived oxidants nor their role in nitration of targets during asthma is established. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry we demonstrate a 10-fold increase in 3-nitrotyrosine (NO(2)Y) content, a global marker of protein modification by reactive nitrogen species, in proteins recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage of severe asthmatic patients (480 +/- 198 micromol/mol tyrosine; n = 11) compared with nonasthmatic subjects (52.5 +/- 40.7 micromol/mol tyrosine; n = 12). Parallel gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage proteins for 3-bromotyrosine (BrY) and 3-chlorotyrosine (ClY), selective markers of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO)- and myeloperoxidase-catalyzed oxidation, respectively, demonstrated a dramatic preferential formation of BrY in asthmatic (1093 +/- 457 micromol BrY/mol tyrosine; 161 +/- 88 micromol ClY/mol tyrosine; n = 11 each) compared with nonasthmatic subjects (13 +/- 14.5 micromol BrY/mol tyrosine; 65 +/- 69 micromol ClY/mol tyrosine; n = 12 each). Bronchial tissue from individuals who died of asthma demonstrated the most intense anti-NO(2)Y immunostaining in epitopes that colocalized with eosinophils. Although eosinophils from normal subjects failed to generate detectable levels of NO, NO(2-), NO(3-), or NO(2)Y, tyrosine nitration was promoted by eosinophils activated either in the presence of physiological levels of NO(2-) or an exogenous NO source. At low, but not high (e.g., >2 microM/min), rates of NO flux, EPO inhibitors and catalase markedly attenuated aromatic nitration. These results identify eosinophils as a major source of oxidants during asthma. They also demonstrate that eosinophils use distinct mechanisms for generating NO-derived oxidants and identify EPO as an enzymatic source of nitrating intermediates in eosinophils.

Eosinophil Peroxidase↗

PubMed2001

Ovalbumin aerosols induce airway hyperreactivity in naïve DO11.10 T cell receptor transgenic mice without pulmonary eosinophilia or OVA-specific antibody.

The pathobiology of allergic asthma is being studied using murine models, most of which use systemic priming followed by pulmonary challenges with the immunizing antigen. In general, mice develop eosinophilic pulmonary inflammation, increased antigen-specific immunoglobulins, and airway hyperreactivity (AHR), all of which are dependent on antigen-specific T cell activation. To establish a model of allergic asthma, which did not require systemic priming, we exposed DO11.10 T cell receptor transgenic mice, which have an expanded repertoire of ovalbumin (OVA), peptide-specific T cells, to limited aerosols of OVA protein. DO11.10 +/- mice developed AHR in the absence of increases in total serum IgE, OVA-specific IgG, or eosinophilia. The AHR was accompanied by pulmonary recruitment of antigen-specific T cells with decreased expression of CD62L and CD45RB and increased expression of CD69, a phenotype indicative of T cell activation. Our results support recent hypotheses that T cells mediate AHR directly.

Administration, Intranasal↗

PubMed2000

Dendritic cells: pulmonary immune regulation and asthma.

Dendritic cells (DCs) may play a pivotal role in the initiation and establishment of chronic T-helper cell (Th)-2 mediated lung inflammation as seen in asthma. Current in vitro data indicate that the haemopoietic lineage of the DC or the local environment in which a DC matures, or both acting together, can instruct the DC to become a Th1- or Th2-inducing antigen-presenting cell. Once allergen-specific Th2 memory cells are drawn into the lung, repeated allergen presentation by lung DCs may drive the persistent stimulation of allergen-specific memory Th2 cells and precipitate a state of chronic inflammation that contributes to the remodelling and hyperreactive airways that characterize asthma. In addition, the persistent stimulation of effector Th2 cells and the subsequent Th2 cytokine secretion can create a Th2 cytokine milieu in the lung that may influence the differentiation of antigen-specific Th0 in the lung and naive Th in the lung-associated lymph nodes to develop into Th2 effector cells. Immunoglobulin E receptors on antigen-presenting cells may facilitate chronic T-helper cell-2 inflammation directly by focusing allergen to dendritic cells for uptake and indirectly by stimulating alveolar macrophages to secrete mediators that lead to the maturation of dendritic cells with a low capacity to secrete interleukin-12.

Asthma↗

PubMed1999

Ig heavy chain complex-linked genes influence the immune response in a murine cryptococcal infection.

A murine pulmonary infection with Cryptococcus neoformans (Cne) has been used to determine mechanisms regulating effective T cell-mediated immunity in the lungs. In BALB/c and C.B-17 mice, following intratracheal deposition of Cne, the fungus initially grows rapidly and is then progressively cleared from the lungs. Cne clearance in C.B-17 mice requires CD4 and CD8 T cells, IFN-gamma, and NO. Clearance in congenic BALB/c mice proceeds more slowly than in C.B-17 mice, even though the only genetic difference between these strains is at the Ig H chain-containing region of chromosome 12. Examination of the pulmonary immune response in the two strains revealed that both cleared lung Cne by T cell-dependent mechanisms and generated equivalent levels of NO. Furthermore, both strains recruited equal numbers of macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils to the lungs, although BALB/c mice recruited higher numbers of eosinophils. Notably, leukocytes isolated from BALB/c lungs during infection secreted lower levels of IFN-gamma and higher levels of the Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-5 as compared with lung leukocytes from C.B-17 mice. Furthermore, serum levels of IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG3 anti-Cne Abs generated during infection were significantly greater in BALB/c mice than C.B-17 mice. These data suggest that although both BALB/c and C.B-17 mice clear pulmonary cryptococcosis through T cell-mediated mechanisms, Ig H chain-linked genes in BALB/c mice are associated with a decreased effectiveness of the host response, which we suggest might influence the balance in Th1/Th2 T cell subset development or increase anti-Cne Abs, or both.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Comparison of lung dendritic cells and B cells in stimulating naive antigen-specific T cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized APCs that are important in priming naive T cells and can be manipulated in vitro and in vivo to enhance immunizations against microorganisms and tumors. A limitation in the development of suitable immunotherapeutic vaccines for the lung is incomplete information on the role of DCs and other potential APCs in the lung in priming naive T cells. In the current study, we analyzed the relative contributions of murine lung DCs and B cells to process and present OVA to naive CD4+ OVA323-339-specific (DO11.10) T cells in vitro. We also examined their expression of MHC class II and accessory molecules before and after maturation in culture. Similar to DCs from other sites, freshly isolated lung DCs can process OVA, spontaneously up-regulate MHC class II and accessory molecules during overnight culture, and stimulate naive T cells in an Ag-specific manner. In contrast, freshly isolated lung B cells were unable to both process and present native OVA. Furthermore, under conditions of limited OVA323-339 peptide exposure, B cells had a significantly diminished capacity to stimulate T cells, and this correlated with a decreased density of both MHC class II and important costimulatory molecules as compared with lung DCs.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Immune dysregulation as a cause for allergic asthma.

Allergic asthma is being increasingly understood as a disease caused by Th2-mediated immune responses to inhaled allergens. Most individuals fail to respond to allergens with a Th2 response, and thus, allergic asthma can be considered the result of an abnormally regulated or dysregulated immune response. The prevalence of asthma has risen precipitously in urbanized cultures, as contrasted with third world countries. This observation underlies the heightened efforts in the past few years of basic and applied research efforts to gain a better understanding of both normal and dysregulated immunity to antigens introduced via the airways. This review focuses on recent human studies into the immune dysregulation that results in the asthma phenotype, but also cites selected relevant papers from research with experimental animals.

Allergens↗

PubMed1999

Dissociation of airway hyperresponsiveness from immunoglobulin E and airway eosinophilia in a murine model of allergic asthma.

Nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a hallmark of human asthma. Both airway eosinophilia and high serum levels of total and antigen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) are associated with AHR. It is unclear, however, whether either eosinophilia or increased IgE levels contribute directly to, or predict, the development of AHR. Investigations conducted with various murine models of asthma and different mouse strains have resulted in conflicting evidence about the roles that IgE and airway eosinophilia play in the manifestation of AHR. We show that systemic priming with ovalbumin (OVA) in alum, followed by a single day of OVA aerosol challenge, is sufficient to induce AHR, as measured by increased pulmonary resistance in response to intravenously delivered methacholine in BALB/c, but not C57BL/6 or B6D2F1, mice. This was observed despite the fact that OVA-challenged BALB/c mice had less airway eosinophilia and smaller increases in total IgE than either C57BL/6 or B6D2F1 mice, and had less pulmonary inflammation and OVA-specific IgE than B6D2F1 mice. We conclude that airway eosinophilia, pulmonary inflammation, and high serum levels of total or OVA-specific IgE are all insufficient to induce AHR in C57BL/6 and B6D2F1 mice, whereas BALB/c mice demonstrate AHR in the absence of airway eosinophilia. These data confirm that the development of AHR is genetically determined, not only in naive mice, but also in actively immunized ones, and cannot be predicted by levels of airway eosinophilia, pulmonary inflammation, total IgE, or antigen-specific IgE.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

IL-5 is required for eosinophil recruitment, crystal deposition, and mononuclear cell recruitment during a pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans infection in genetically susceptible mice (C57BL/6).

CBA/J (highly resistant), BALB/c (moderately resistant), and C57BL/6 (susceptible) mice displayed three resistance patterns following intratracheal inoculation of Cryptococcus neoformans 52. The inability to clear the infection correlated with the duration of the eosinophil infiltrate in the lungs. The role of IL-5 in promoting the pulmonary eosinophilia and subsequent inflammatory damage in susceptible C57BL/6 mice was investigated. C57BL/6 mice developed a chronic alveolar, peribronchiolar, and perivascular eosinophilia following C. neoformans infection. This resulted in the accumulation of intracellular Charcot-Leyden-like crystals in alveolar macrophages by wk 4 and the extracellular deposition of these crystals in the bronchioles with associated destruction of airway epithelium by wk 6. IL-5 mRNA was expressed in the lungs, and injections of anti-IL-5 mAb prevented eosinophil recruitment and crystal deposition but did not alter cryptococcal clearance. Depletion of CD4+ T cells (but not CD8+) ablated IL-5 production by lung leukocytes in vitro and eosinophil recruitment in vivo. Neutralization of IL-5 also inhibited the recruitment of macrophages, CD8+ T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes by 47 to 57%. Anti-IL-5 mAb inhibited CD4+ T lymphocyte recruitment by 30% but did not affect neutrophil recruitment. Thus, the development of a chronic eosinophil infiltrate in the lungs of C. neoformans-infected C57BL/6 mice is a nonprotective immune response that causes significant lung pathology. Furthermore, IL-5 promotes the recruitment and activation of eosinophils, resulting in the recruitment of additional macrophages and lymphocytes into the lungs.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

T and B cell independence of endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression in pulmonary granulomatous inflammation.

A pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans (Cne: strain 52D, ATCC24067) infection model in mice was used to examine the possible role for T cell-mediated immunity in regulating vascular adhesion molecules on lung endothelium during development of granulomatous inflammation. Resolution of pulmonary Cne infection in C.B-17 mice begins by Day 14 following intratracheal inoculation and depends on T cell-mediated recruitment of monocytes followed by their activation. C.B-17 scid/scid (SCID) mice mount a less exuberant pulmonary inflammatory response, recruit fewer monocytes into their lungs, and fail to clear the infection. Recruitment of leukocytes into infected tissue is mediated by both the interaction of adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of activated vascular endothelial cells with ligands on circulating cells, and the directed response of these leukocytes to chemotactic factors. The kinetics of expression of the endothelial cell adhesion molecules E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), all previously shown to regulate monocyte recruitment, were examined in the lungs of infected C.B-17 and SCID mice during pulmonary infection to determine if T cells were necessary for their upregulation. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that upregulation of E-selectin, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1 did not differ significantly between C.B-17 and SCID mice at any time during infection. Maximal expression in C.B-17 and SCID mice was noted between Days 5 and 7 for all three molecules and preceded maximal influx of leukocytes into the lung. Thus, the inability of SCID mice to recruit optimal numbers of monocytes into infected lungs was not the result of a failure to express the critical adhesion molecules early in infection, but likely reflected absence of immune dependent chemotactic factors.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Characterization of accessory molecules in murine lung dendritic cell function: roles for CD80, CD86, CD54, and CD40L.

Lung dendritic cells (DCs) from mice were enriched to 92-99% purity using a multistep enrichment protocol which included fluorescence-activated cell sorting. DCs were analyzed for expression of cell surface molecules, function in a mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR), and dependence on accessory molecules in stimulating an MLR. DCs possessed potent accessory properties in vitro, while interstitial macrophages (IM), which are Ia-negative, displayed little MLR-stimulating function of their own. However, IM were capable of enhancing DC-initiated T cell proliferation via a cell contact mechanism. These results indicated that murine lung DCs functioned as stimulators of primary T cell responses, and that cells in the local environment influenced their function. Lung DCs expressed surface molecules typical of DCs from other sites including CD11a, CD54, CD80, and CD86. As is true for DCs in other sites, costimulatory molecules including CD80, CD86, CD40L, CD2, CD54, and CD11a played important roles in lung DC-initiated T cell proliferation. Interestingly, anti-CD86 monoclonal antibody (mAb) had little inhibitory effect on the MLR unless it was added in combination with anti-CD80 mAb. These studies suggest that CD80 on lung DCs can provide a costimulatory signal to allogeneic T cells in the absence of CD86 signaling, but that CD86 functions poorly except when CD80 is also engaged.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

IL-12 and IFN-gamma are required for initiating the protective Th1 response to pulmonary cryptococcosis in resistant C.B-17 mice.

A murine model was used to assess the role of cytokines in initiating protective T-cell-mediated immunity in the lung. A pulmonary infection was initiated by intratracheal inoculation of Cryptococcus neoformans (Cne). Previously, we had established that Cne lung clearance was mouse-strain-specific: C.B-17 mice were resistant and developed a Th1-like response, whereas C57BL/6 mice were susceptible and did not develop a Th1 response. In the present study we showed that monoclonal anti-interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and anti-interleukin-12 (IL-12) antibody administration prior to infection of resistant C.B-17 mice inhibited lung clearance of Cne. Cytokine profiles of lung and lung-associated lymph nodes (LALN) from monoclonal antibody (mAb)-treated C.B-17 mice were switched from Th1-like to Th2-like, and mAb-treated C.B-17 mice exhibited lung eosinophilia, which was absent in control C.B-17 mice. Additionally, C.B-17 mice treated with anti-IFN-gamma and anti-IL-12 mAb demonstrated a significantly lower percentage of lung macrophages expressing inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) than did control mice. These studies clearly demonstrate that both IFN-gamma and IL-12 are required for initiation of a Th1 response in resistant C.B-17 mice.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

The regulation of pulmonary immunity.

No evidence has emerged which suggests that the principles of immunity derived from studies on cells from other body sites are contradicted in the lung and its associated lymphoid tissue. What is clear, however, is that the environment dictates the types of cells, their relationship to one another, and what perturbing events will set in motion either the development of an "active" immune response or tolerance. Investigating mechanisms for the development of lung immunity has increased our understanding of how human diseases develop and is continuing to suggest new ways to manipulate pulmonary immune responses. Demonstration that lung cells regulate both nonspecific inflammation and immunity through the expression of adhesion molecules and the secretion of cytokines offers hope for ways to design more effective vaccines, enhance microbial clearance in immunosuppressed hosts, and to suppress manifestations of immunologically mediated lung disease. Important lung diseases targeted for intensive research efforts in the immediate future are tuberculosis, asthma, and fibrotic lung disease. Perhaps even the common cold might be conquered. Considering the pace of current research on lung immunity, it may not be too ambitious to predict that these diseases may be conquered in the next decade.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

A role for gamma interferon-induced nitric oxide in pulmonary clearance of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Increasing evidence indicates that T cell-dependent, interferon gamma (IFN gamma)-induced activation of murine macrophages and nitric oxide (NO) production plays an important role in host defenses against many microorganisms. A role for this mechanism in pulmonary defenses against infectious agents has not been examined. Previous studies demonstrated that both CD4 and CD8 T cells were required for lung clearance of encapsulated Cryptococcus neoformans (Cne). The current studies investigated whether IFN gamma-induced NO production was involved in the protective T cell-mediated immune response against Cne. Intratracheal inoculation of a low-virulence strain of Cne into mice resulted in an infection that was progressively cleared in immunocompetent C.B-17, but not severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. The onset of Cne lung clearance in immunocompetent mice coincided with a marked increase in inflammatory cells in the lung, local expression of IFN gamma-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) messenger RNA (mRNA), and an increase in systemic NO production as measured by urinary nitrate excretion. None of these changes were observed in infected SCID mice. Inflammatory lung cells isolated from Cne-infected C.B-17 mice inhibited the growth of endogenous Cne in vitro by a NO-dependent mechanism. Moreover, lung clearance of Cne in immunocompetent mice was blocked by treatment with (1) antibody to IFN gamma, which blocked iNOS gene expression and NO production, or (2) the arginine analogue, NGmonomethyl-L-arginine (MMA), which only blocked NO production. However, neither anti-IFN gamma nor MMA treatment decreased the numbers or types of recruited inflammatory cells. Thus, these studies demonstrated that, although recruitment of effector cells was required, it was not sufficient to initiate clearance of Cne from the lung. Rather, an IFN gamma-induced effector mechanism, i.e., NO production, was also required.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Early cytokine production in pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans infections distinguishes susceptible and resistant mice.

A murine pulmonary infection model utilizing intratracheal inoculation of Cryptococcus neoformans was used to analyze cytokines produced in response to opportunistic pathogens acquired via the respiratory tract. The specific question asked was whether early cytokine secretion in lung-associated lymph nodes (LALN) would predict whether this organism would be cleared from the lung. Lung colony-forming units (CFU) were analyzed in two strains of mice over 12 wk, and lung clearance was found to be strain dependent. C.B-17 mice reduced their lung CFU burden between day 7 and day 14 of infection, had significantly higher in lung CFU than C.B-17 mice. The capacity of cells from lungs and LALN to secrete cytokines was significantly different between the strains when assessed at day 7 and day 14 after inoculation. When compared with sensitive C57BL/6 mice 7 days after infection, resistant C.B-17 mice demonstrated (1) increased interferon-gamma secretion by LALN cells in vitro in response to media alone, heat-killed cryptococci, and the T cell mitogen concanavalin A and (2) increased interleukin (IL)-2 secretion by both LALN and lung cells in response to concanavalin A. IL-4 and IL-10 were comparable or undetectable in both mouse strains, whereas IL-5 was significantly higher in all lung cell cultures of C57BL/6 mice. Thus, an early regional Th1 immune response in C.B-17 mice correlated with resistance to the organism, whereas the absence of this response in C57BL/6 mice correlated with susceptibility.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

The role of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the protective inflammatory response to a pulmonary cryptococcal infection.

Moderately virulent strains of Cryptococcus neoformans, inoculated via the trachea, cause a pulmonary infection in BALB/c mice that was gradually resolved by T lymphocyte-dependent mechanisms. The current studies, using monoclonal antibodies to deplete T cell subsets, demonstrated that CD4+ and CD8+ T cells combined to mediate a prominent pulmonary inflammatory infiltrate that included lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and eosinophils. The inflammatory response peaked 2 weeks after infection and coincided with the beginning of gradual pulmonary clearance of the infection. CD4/CD8 double deficiency (4-8-) markedly reduced the influx of all cells into the lungs. A CD4 deficiency had a more profound effect on the total number of inflammatory cells recruited to the lungs than a CD8 deficiency. Depletion of either CD8+ or CD4+ T cells significantly decreased pulmonary macrophages and neutrophils, but only a CD4 deficiency prevented the influx of eosinophils. Recruitment of CD8+ T cells occurred independently of CD4+ T cells, but CD4+ T cell recruitment to the lungs was significantly reduced in CD8-deficient mice. Mitogen-stimulated infiltrating lung lymphocytes from infected 4+8+ mice secreted both T helper cell type 1 (Th1) [interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2)] and Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10) cytokines. CD4 deficiency resulted in loss of T cells secreting IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10. However, residual CD8+ T cells still secreted IL-2 and IFN-gamma. Lung T cells from CD8-deficient mice secreted similar levels of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10 on a per lung basis compared with 4+8+ mice despite decreased numbers of CD4+ T cells, but secreted reduced levels of IFN-gamma. These experiments indicate that (1) CD4+ T cells play a dominant role in recruiting macrophages and granulocytes to the lung and (2) CD8+ T cells also mediate cellular recruitment, increase the magnitude of CD4+ T cell numbers in the infiltrate, and contribute to the local secretion of IFN-gamma. Thus, these studies demonstrate that CD8+ T cells can independently mediate an inflammatory response to a large, particulate, extracellular antigen, a role heretofore attributed almost solely to CD4+ T cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Postmortem diagnosis of acute anaphylaxis by serum tryptase analysis. A case report.

Systemic anaphylaxis is an acute allergic emergency resulting from generalized mast cell degranulation. In the United States, it is estimated that anaphylaxis accounts for about 500 deaths each year. Hymenoptera-sting hypersensitivity is one of the most common causes of systemic anaphylaxis. The authors report a case of a healthy 26-year-old man who developed acute anaphylaxis after a bee sting, could not be resuscitated, and died within 1 hour. At autopsy, performed 14 hours after the event, the only pathologic findings were laryngeal edema and congestion of lung. Postmortem tryptase levels in the blood were obtained and were instrumental in confirming a diagnosis of acute anaphylaxis. This case is reported to discuss the difficulties associated with using traditional histamine levels in making a diagnosis of anaphylaxis and to validate the value of using tryptase levels to document acute anaphylaxis as a cause of death, even when serum is not obtained until many hours after death.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Role for C5 and neutrophils in the pulmonary intravascular clearance of circulating Cryptococcus neoformans.

Although C5a-induced intravascular pulmonary sequestration of neutrophils has been investigated with regards to lung injury, relatively few studies have addressed the possible role for this mechanism in the intravascular clearance of circulating microorganisms. A murine model was used in which the complement-fixing, encapsulated yeast Cryptococcus neoformans (Cne) was inoculated intravenously (IV), and lung clearance of the organism was measured 24 h later. In normal mice, clearance was remarkably effective, but in leukocyte-depleted or C5-deficient (C5-) animals, clearance was significantly decreased. In vitro assays indicated that C5 was necessary for neutrophils to kill encapsulated Cne and evidence was obtained that C5a was involved. In vivo studies using light and electron microscopy demonstrated that 30 min after an IV inoculation of encapsulated yeast into C5-sufficient (C5+) mice, neutrophils accumulated in pulmonary vessels and engulfed Cne. However, in C5- mice, neutrophils failed to accumulate in pulmonary vessels and there was no endocytosis of encapsulated yeasts. These studies suggested that following Cne interaction with complement in the blood, release of C5a activated circulating neutrophils to adhere to Cne, and perhaps to adjacent endothelium, which facilitated rapid phagocytosis and killing of the organism. In contrast to the IV infection model, when Cne was inoculated into the tracheas of C5+ and C5- mice, no evidence was obtained for an early PMN-C5-dependent clearance mechanism. C5a-dependent neutrophil killing in the lung vasculature may provide important host protection against Cne during vascular dissemination and perhaps against other disseminating microorganisms that activate complement.

Animals↗