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Biomedical subjects

R M Strieter

Publications and source records attributed to R M Strieter.

358 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Mechanisms that regulate the production and effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Macrophage-derived tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is increasingly being recognized as an important monokine possessing multifunctional activities. Current evidence has demonstrated that TNF can induce a number of pleomorphic effects in both physiological and immunological systems. Historically, the biological effects and nomenclature of TNF centered around the induction of hemorrhagic necrosis of specific solid murine tumors. This effected function has been greatly expanded upon, and TNF is now recognized as an important peptide mediator involved in various facets of cell activation. This is exemplified by the central role that TNF plays in endotoxemia, shock and multiple organ failure syndromes. Although TNF has been incriminated as the molecular signal mediating number of pathophysiological derangements, the regulatory mechanisms that control TNF expression at the cellular and molecular levels, as well as the modulation of the in vivo activity of preformed TNF, has not been full addressed. In this review, a detailed description of the mechanisms that regulate the production and effects of TNF is presented.

Animals↗

In vivo dynamics of murine tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene expression. Kinetics of dexamethasone-induced suppression.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) has been implicated as an important, proximal mediator of many of the pathophysiologic effects observed during septic shock. In vitro studies have demonstrated that the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) will suppress the production of TNF; yet, clinical studies have shown that glucocorticoids are not protective in septic shock. In this paper we described the in vivo effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the kinetics of local and systemic TNF production, the time dependent expression of TNF mRNA, and the suppression of both TNF mRNA and bioactive protein using a defined treatment protocol of Dex. Peritoneal macrophages were elicited by CBA/J mice in the injection of complete Freunds adjuvant and the mice challenged with an intraperitoneal injection of LPS 2 weeks later. Kinetic studies showed that the peak of TNF production occurred 1 hour post LPS injection and reached a maximum of 775 units/ml within the ascites and 26 units/ml within the plasma. Northern blot analysis of mRNA extracted from peritoneal cells showed a peak of mRNA 30 minutes post LPS challenge. Dose-response studies disclosed that 10 micrograms of LPS/mouse produced maximal TNF within the ascites fluid, and half-maximal stimulation occurred at 70 ng LPS/mouse. Mice treated with Dex in vivo before LPS challenge showed a dramatic reduction in TNF production within both the ascites and plasma, and Northern blot analysis showed a corresponding reduction in the TNF specific mRNA. Further studies revealed that mice treated with 4 mg/kg of Dex intraperitoneally 4 hours before, or at the time of LPS challenge, had dramatic reductions in TNF levels within both the ascites and plasma. However, delaying the treatment only 20 minutes after LPS injection failed to significantly reduce TNF in either compartment. These data may provide a rationale why glucocorticoids are not clinically efficacious in the treatment of septic shock, since there is rapid upregulation of LPS-induced TNF gene expression. By the time patients develop clinical signs and symptoms of septic shock there are already preformed, circulating levels of TNF.

Animals↗

Monokine-induced gene expression of a human endothelial cell-derived neutrophil chemotactic factor.

Monokines have been increasingly recognized as communication signals that interact with both immune and non-immune cells during inflammation. Specifically, interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) possess potent effector activities on various cell types. We present novel data demonstrating that human endothelial cells are a major source of a neutrophil chemotactic factor (NCF) synthesized upon stimulation with either IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, or TNF-alpha; but not with interleukin-6 (IL-6). Northern blot analysis demonstrated that 20 ng/ml of either IL-1 or TNF-alpha could induce endothelial cells to express significant levels of NCF mRNA, while IL-6 was not active in this system. These data demonstrate that monokines play an important role in mediating acute inflammation via induction of an endothelial cell-derived NCF.

Autoradiography↗

Cellular and molecular regulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha production by pentoxifylline.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), a mononuclear phagocyte (MO)-derived peptide, is increasingly being recognized for its pleomorphic immunologic effects. A number of investigations have demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce TNF synthesis, yet mechanisms that regulate TNF expression at the cellular and molecular levels have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we present data demonstrating pentoxifylline, a methylxanthine, is efficacious in suppressing LPS-induced MO-derived TNF at the level of both TNF mRNA accumulation and TNF supernatant bioactivity. Pentoxifylline, at a dose of 1 x 10(-5)M, suppressed the production of both biologically active TNF and TNF mRNA expression by more than 50%. Furthermore, additional methylxanthines and dibutyryl cAMP have similar effects on TNF expression. These data support the mechanism for this suppressive effect is via the generation of intracellular cAMP.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗

Complications in the ventilated patient.

The use of mechanical ventilation may subject patients to a variety of complications and adverse effects. Certain complications may be a direct result of mechanical ventilation, whereas others seen in association with this modality of therapy appear to be related to concurrent conditions and the severity of underlying disease. The incidence, evaluation, and management of major complications associated with mechanical ventilation are reviewed.

Barotrauma↗

Chemokine and inflammatory cytokine changes during chronic wound healing.

Wound healing is a complex process resulting from an interplay of processes including coagulation, inflammation, angiogenesis, and epithelialization. The chemokine family has been shown to contain members that are potent regulators of many of these pathways. Because we have previously shown that chemokines "pool" in biologic wound dressings, we studied the levels of CXC and CC chemokines, along with key inflammatory mediators, serially from a group of patients undergoing therapy for chronic venous leg ulcers. After 8 weeks, all patients had marked clinical healing of their ulcers (median 63.3% reduction in size) with two of 10 completely healed. Wound fluids extracted from dressings showed high levels of platelet factor-4 and interferon-gamma-inducible protein, with a trend toward increases in the ratio of the sums of the angiogenic versus angiostatic CXC chemokines (p = 0.082) in the tissues collected from the center of the ulcers during wound closure. Neutrophil-activating peptide-2 and interleukin-8 accounted for the most changes in wound fluid angiogenic chemokines, with significant differences both as compared with baseline levels and with patients' plasma level noted at various time points between weeks 0 and 8. The level of angiostatic chemokines, interferon-y inducible protein 10 and platelet-activating-4, fell most significantly between weeks 0 and 3 as compared with plasma levels. The observed shift toward angiogenic CXC chemokines suggests that effective healing in chronic venous insufficiency ulcers appears to "move" the ulcer bed toward a state more conducive to epithelialization,characteristic of the proliferative phase of wound healing. CC chemokines were also elevated at baseline in the wound fluid samples as compared with the patients' plasma levels. Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 (3 and regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES) levels decreased with healing, whereas there were significant increases in the tissue levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 a over the first 4 weeks of therapy (p< or = 0.05 for both). Coincident with these changes was a steady increase in the ratio of interleukin-1 R/interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein in the ulcer center tissues, which also correlated with healing (p < 0 .05) as compared with a decreasing ratio at the ulcer edge, and a biphasic response in the wound fluids. These findings suggest that advanced wound care techniques help move the ulcer from a chronic inflammatory state into one more characteristic of the late inflammatory/early proliferative phase of wound healing. Chemokines may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of chronic venous ulcers through their effects on angiogenesis and/or the progression of inflammatory reactions at the site of injury.

Journal Article↗

Detection of perivenous inflammation in a rat model of venous thrombosis using MRV.

Venous thrombosis is associated with a significant inflammatory response in the vein wall, which can be imaged noninvasively with gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced magnetic resonance venography (MRV). Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory cytokine, has been found to decrease the inflammatory response at the proper dosage and timing of administration. The present study determines if MRV with Gd is useful in a rat model of stasis-induced venous thrombosis to document the anti-inflammatory effects of rIL-10. Rats underwent laparotomy and ligation of the inferior vena cava (IVC). Animals were infused with rIL-10 at 2.5 microg (n = 6), rIL-10 at 10 microg (n = 6), or rIL-10 at 40 microg (n = 6). Six animals without IVC ligation or drug infusion served as controls. Two days after thrombosis induction, the rats underwent MRV with both time-of-flight imaging and pre/post-Gd T1-weighted imaging. Inflammation was analyzed by measuring the area of Gd enhancement at the point of IVC thrombosis. Enhancement area was also measured in the distal IVC where flow persisted. All animals with IVC ligation developed thrombosis, and all control rats were free of thrombus. In areas where flow remained, the area of enhancement was 1.8 +/- 0.4 mm2, while controls demonstrated 3.8 +/- 1.0 mm2 enhancement. Enhancement was significantly greater in all groups at the level of thrombus compared to the area of distal IVC flow and control IVCs (p < .001). Animals receiving rIL-10 at 40 microg revealed the most enhancement, 32.7 +/- 6.2 mm2, while the least enhancement was noted with 2.5 microg, 14.7 +/- 1.5 mm2 (p < .05). In conclusion, Gd-enhanced MRV was found useful in this rat model of stasis-induced venous thrombosis to document inflammation noninvasively and to evaluate the effects of anti-inflammatory interventions during stasis-induced IVC venous thrombosis.

Animals↗

Neutrophils are the initial cell type identified in deep venous thrombosis induced vein wall inflammation.

Venous thrombosis and inflammation are interrelated. The authors hypothesized that inferior vena cava thrombosis results in a predictable vein wall inflammatory response, characterized by early neutrophil infiltration. Thrombosis was induced in rats by placement of an inferior vena cava ligature with branch ligation. Animals were killed at baseline, 6 hrs, day 2, and day 6. Analysis included vein wall morphometrics, myeloperoxidase activity, and fluorescence activated cell sorting. At 6 hrs, there was an increase in neutrophils and lymphocytes as compared to sham animals (p < 0.0001 for neutrophils, p < 0.05 for lymphocytes). By day 2, only neutrophils were elevated in the experimental groups (experimental = 75.5 cells/5 high power fields vs. 9.6 cells/ 5 high power fields in shams, p < 0.0001). Myeloperoxidase activity in the experimental group was greater than shams on day 2(34.7 delta optical density/min vs. 5.9 delta optical density/ min, p < 0.0001). Fluorescence activated cell sorting of the neutrophil marker at 6 hrs confirmed the increase in neutrophils (experimental = 63.1%, shams = 39.1%, p < 0.0001), and peaked on day 2 (71.9%). This study suggests that 1) neutrophils are elevated early during the inflammatory response due to thrombus initiation, and 2) neutrophils, because of their early predominance, likely contributed to vein wall injury during venous thrombosis.

Animals↗

Expression and regulation of chemokines in acute bacterial pneumonia.

Effective host defense against bacterial invasion is characterized by the vigorous recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells, which are dependent upon the coordinated expression of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we have demonstrated that both C-X-C and C-C chemokines are integral components of antibacterial host defense. Specifically, studies in vitro indicate that macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and MIP-1 alpha augment the ability of PMN and alveolar macrophages, respectively, to phagocytose and kill Escherichia coli. In addition, MIP-2 and MIP-1 alpha are expressed within the lung in response to the intratracheal instillation of Klebsiella pneumoniae, and the inhibition of MIP-2 bioactivity in vivo results in decreases in lung PMN influx, bacterial clearance, and early survival. Finally, the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) is also expressed within the lung during the evolution of Klebsiella pneumonia, and neutralization of IL-10 results in enhanced proinflammatory cytokine production, bacterial clearance, and increases in both short- and long-term survival. In conclusion, our studies indicate that specific chemokines are important mediators of leukocyte recruitment and/or activation in bacterial pneumonia, and that the expression of these chemokines is regulated by endogenously produced IL-10.

Animals↗

Interleukin-8 (IL-8): the major neutrophil chemotactic factor in the lung.

A number of novel chemotactic cytokines are becoming increasingly recognized as important participants in the elicitation of specific inflammatory cells from the peripheral blood to sites of inflammation. Recent observations have now demonstrated that certain chemotactic cytokines possess specificity for the selected movement of individual immune/inflammatory cell populations. One of the more studied chemotactic cytokines is a neutrophil chemotactic factor identified as interleukin-8 (IL-8). This polypeptide mediator is produced in abundance by mononuclear phagocytic cells, as well as a number of non-inflammatory cells. This latter list includes both fibroblasts and epithelial cells. Moreover, the synthesis of IL-8 by fibroblasts and epithelial cells involves stimulus specificity, as the production of this mediator by non-inflammatory cells is dependent upon an initial host response. In the context of the lung, the alveolar macrophage appears to play a central role by generating factors, such as interleukin-1 and tumor-necrosis factor, which are potent stimuli for the induction of IL-8 by the lung fibroblasts and type II epithelial cells. The cascade-like interaction may lead to the rapid production of significant quantities of IL-8 by the lung and may selectively recruit neutrophils to the pulmonary interstitium and/or airspace. This sequence of events, which leads to cytokine networking in the lung, may be an important phenomenon for the generation of a major chemotaxin important to a variety of lung diseases.

Animals↗

Specific ELISAs for the detection of human macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha and beta.

Mononuclear cell elicitation has gained renewed interest with the discovery of a supergene family of small polypeptide chemotactic cytokines (< 10 kD). These chemotactic cytokines have been divided into the C-X-C and C-C chemokine families depending upon whether the first two conserved cysteine amino acid residues are separated by one amino acid or are in juxtaposition, respectively. A salient feature of the C-C chemokine family is their ability to induce both monocyte and lymphocyte chemotaxis. Although monocyte and lymphocyte migration in vitro is measured in chemotactic bioassays, this technique often fails to determine the specific quantitative contribution of a chemotaxin to a biological specimen. Our laboratory has developed two sensitive and specific sandwich ELISAs for the detection of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha and beta (MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta). The lower threshold for detection of both MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta was 100 pg/ml, and both of these ELISAs were efficacious for the detection of MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta in conditioned media from pulmonary fibroblasts, monocytes, neutrophils, and a pulmonary epithelial cell line. The development of these ELISAs will allow the measurement of MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta from biologically relevant fluids and ascertain whether these two C-C chemokines are present in disease.

Animals↗

The role of chemokines in the immunopathology of pulmonary disease.

During the last decade, our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the initiation and maintenance of pulmonary disease has been greatly aided by advances in the field of chemokine biology. Chemokines comprise four supergene families, two of these families (the CC and CXC chemokine groups) are quite large and contain over 50 identified ligands and at least 14 individual receptors. Two additional chemokine families (C, CXXXC chemokines) are small and contain lymphotactin and fractalkine, respectively, as their members. In addition to their originally identified chemotactic activity, chemokines possess a variety of biological activities, ranging from immunomodulating leukocyte activation to suppressing HIV infection. The latter effect is due to the ability of specific chemokine receptors to serve as co-receptor for HIV entry into specific leukocyte sub-populations. A number of in vitro and in vivo studies have underscored the importance of chemokine biology in the progression of both acute and chronic lung diseases. These investigations have demonstrated the importance of targeting chemokines for new therapeutic approaches to treat pulmonary disease. A variety of acute and chronic lung diseases have been shown to possess a chemokine component and contribute to the initiation and maintenance of lung pathology, thus, there is little doubt that a further understanding of the mechanisms of pulmonary diseases will rely upon advances in the field of chemokine biology.

Acute Disease↗

Antibodies against tumor necrosis factor prolong cardiac allograft survival in the rat.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha has significant biologic actions in many circumstances, such as infectious diseases, ischemia/reperfusion injury, and delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions. Based on the hypothesis that manipulation of TNF can play an important role in treatment of heart transplant rejection, the objective of this study was to determine whether anti-TNF antibodies could prolong cardiac allograft survival. Hearts from brown rats were transplanted to the necks of recipient Lewis rats. Graft survival was determined by direct palpation of the heart; complete graft rejection was defined by cessation of contraction. In untreated rats, the hearts were rejected 6.8 +/- 0.6 days (n = 10; mean +/- SEM) after transplantation. The mononuclear cell infiltrate in the transplanted hearts stained intensely for TNF by immunohistochemistry, indicating that TNF was present within the inflammatory cells associated with the rejection process. In rats receiving a single injection of anti-TNF antibody at the time of transplantation (n = 6), however, graft survival was nearly doubled (12.7 +/- 1.4 days; p less than 0.001 vs controls). Prolonged cardiac graft survival was also evident if the anti-TNF treatment was delayed until 1 day (n = 5; rejection at 16.2 +/- 2.4 days; p less than 0.001 vs controls) or even 3 days after transplantation (n = 5; rejection at 11.4 +/- 2.3 days; p less than 0.005 vs controls). Treatment at 5 days after transplantation, however, was not effective (n = 3; rejection at 7.7 +/- 0.6 days; p, not significant vs controls). The data indicate that a single bolus of anti-TNF antibodies can delay heart transplant rejection, even when administered up to 3 days after implantation, supporting the potential utility of anti-TNF therapy for treatment of heart transplant rejection.

Animals↗

CXC chemokines and angiogenesis/angiostasis.

Angiogenesis is important to a variety of physiological and pathological processes. While a variety of factors have been determined to regulate angiogenesis, members of the CXC chemokine family can either promote or inhibit this process. This disparity in biological behavior is due to the presence or absence of a structural-functional domain--three amino acid residues (Glu-Leu-Arg: the "ELR-motif") that precede the first cysteine amino acid residue of the primary structure of these cytokines. The purpose of this study is to introduce the topic of angiogenesis and focuses on the CXC chemokine family, because these cytokines are a unique family of molecules that can behave in a disparate manner in the regulation of angiogenesis associated with either chronic inflammatory-fibroproliferative disorders or tumor growth.

Animals↗