Quantitative Evaluation of Redox Processes in Intact Rat Lungs and Endothelial Cells and the Effect of Hyperoxia

A common initial treatment of hypoxemia in patients with lung failure secondary to acute lung injury (e.g., adult respiratory distress syndrome) is oxygen (O2) therapy (hyperoxia). However, prolonged O2 therapy causes lung O2 toxicity, which can further impair lung functions. The rat model of lung O2 toxicity replicates key features of human lung O2 toxicity. In addition, rats develop tolerance or susceptibility to 100% O2 by pre-exposing them to 85% O2 (hyper-85) or 60% O2 (hyper-60) for 7 days, respectively. Therefore, the long-term objectives of this study are to elucidate mechanisms involved in rat tolerance of 100% O2, and to further understanding of the mechanisms involved in lung O2 toxicity. In this work, the effects of rat exposure to hyperoxia on targeted lung cytosolic/mitochondrial redox enzymes with pro- or anti-oxidant properties were evaluated using indicator dilution methods. The effect of hyperoxia on mitochondrial membrane potential in cultured endothelial cells was also evaluated using an approach developed in this study. Computational modeling was used for quantitative analysis data from intact lungs or cultured endothelial cells, and for estimation of parameters descriptive of the activities of targeted enzymes and mitochondrial membrane potential. The results revealed an increase in the lung activity of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in hyper-85 and hyper-60 rats, a decrease in the lung activity of NADH:ubiquinone reductase (complex I) in rats exposed to 85% O2 for \u3e24 hours and an increase in the lung activity of Q-cytochrome c reductase (complex III) in hyper-85 rats. Exposure of endothelial cells to 95% O2 for 48 hours did not alter mitochondrial membrane potential but increased its sensitivity to mitochondrial uncouplers. These results suggest that the decrease in the activity of complex I might be an early manifestation of an adaptive response to 100% O2; and the increase in the activity of complex III might be important to this adaptive response. Thus, complexes I and III could serve as non-invasive indices of lung O2 toxicity or tolerance using clinical imaging methods, or as therapeutic targets for protecting against lung O2 toxicity

Differential Responses of Targeted Lung Redox Enzymes to Rat Exposure to 60 or 85% Oxygen

Rat exposure to 60% O2 (hyper-60) or 85% O2 (hyper-85) for 7 days confers susceptibility or tolerance, respectively, of the otherwise lethal effects of exposure to 100% O2. The objective of this study was to determine whether activities of the antioxidant cytosolic enzyme NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and mitochondrial complex III are differentially altered in hyper-60 and hyper-85 lungs. Duroquinone (DQ), an NQO1 substrate, or its hydroquinone (DQH2), a complex III substrate, was infused into the arterial inflow of isolated, perfused lungs, and the venous efflux rates of DQH2 and DQ were measured. Based on inhibitor effects and kinetic modeling, capacities of NQO1-mediated DQ reduction (Vmax1) and complex III-mediated DQH2 oxidation (Vmax2) increased by ∼140 and ∼180% in hyper-85 lungs, respectively, compared with rates in lungs of rats exposed to room air (normoxic). In hyper-60 lungs, Vmax1 increased by ∼80%, with no effect on Vmax2. Additional studies revealed that mitochondrial complex I activity in hyper-60 and hyper-85 lung tissue homogenates was ∼50% lower than in normoxic lung homogenates, whereas mitochondrial complex IV activity was ∼90% higher in only hyper-85 lung tissue homogenates. Thus NQO1 activity increased in both hyper-60 and hyper-85 lungs, whereas complex III activity increased in hyper-85 lungs only. This increase, along with the increase in complex IV activity, may counter the effects the depression in complex I activity might have on tissue mitochondrial function and/or reactive oxygen species production and may be important to the tolerance of 100% O2 observed in hyper-85 rats

Distribution of Capillary Transit Times in Isolated Lungs of Oxygen-Tolerant Rats

Rats pre-exposed to 85% O2 for 5–7 days tolerate the otherwise lethal effects of 100% O2. The objective was to evaluate the effect of rat exposure to 85% O2 for 7 days on lung capillary mean transit time (t¯c) and distribution of capillary transit times (h c(t)). This information is important for subsequent evaluation of the effect of this hyperoxia model on the redox metabolic functions of the pulmonary capillary endothelium. The venous concentration vs. time outflow curves of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled dextran (FITC-dex), an intravascular indicator, and coenzyme Q1 hydroquinone (CoQ1H2), a compound which rapidly equilibrates between blood and tissue on passage through the pulmonary circulation, were measured following their bolus injection into the pulmonary artery of isolated perfused lungs from rats exposed to room air (normoxic) or 85% O2 for 7 days (hyperoxic). The moments (mean transit time and variance) of the measured FITC-dex and CoQ1H2 outflow curves were determined for each lung, and were then used in a mathematical model [Audi et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 77: 332–351, 1994] to estimate t¯c and the relative dispersion (RDc) of h c(t). Data analysis reveals that exposure to hyperoxia decreases lung t¯c by 42% and increases RDc, a measure h c(t) heterogeneity, by 40%

The effect of COVID-19 restrictions on atmospheric new particle formation in Beijing

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the dramatic reduction of anthropogenic emissions provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of reduced anthropogenic activity and primary emissions on atmospheric chemical processes and the consequent formation of secondary pollutants. Here, we utilize comprehensive observations to examine the response of atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) to the changes in the atmospheric chemical cocktail. We find that the main clustering process was unaffected by the drastically reduced traffic emissions, and the formation rate of 1.5 nm particles remained unaltered. However, particle survival probability was enhanced due to an increased particle growth rate (GR) during the lockdown period, explaining the enhanced NPF activity in earlier studies. For GR at 1.5-3 nm, sulfuric acid (SA) was the main contributor at high temperatures, whilst there were unaccounted contributing vapors at low temperatures. For GR at 3-7 and 7-15 nm, oxygenated organic molecules (OOMs) played a major role. Surprisingly, OOM composition and volatility were insensitive to the large change of atmospheric NOx concentration; instead the associated high particle growth rates and high OOM concentration during the lockdown period were mostly caused by the enhanced atmospheric oxidative capacity. Overall, our findings suggest a limited role of traffic emissions in NPF.Peer reviewe

Differential Expression Analysis Utilizing Condition-Specific Metabolic Pathways

Pathway analysis is ubiquitous in biological data analysis due to the ability to integrate small simultaneous changes in functionally related components. While pathways are often defined based on either manual curation or network topological properties, an attractive alternative is to generate pathways around specific functions, in which metabolism can be defined as the production and consumption of specific metabolites. In this work, we present an algorithm, termed MetPath, that calculates pathways for condition-specific production and consumption of specific metabolites. We demonstrate that these pathways have several useful properties. Pathways calculated in this manner (1) take into account the condition-specific metabolic role of a gene product, (2) are localized around defined metabolic functions, and (3) quantitatively weigh the importance of expression to a function based on the flux contribution of the gene product. We demonstrate how these pathways elucidate network interactions between genes across different growth conditions and between cell types. Furthermore, the calculated pathways compare favorably to manually curated pathways in predicting the expression correlation between genes. To facilitate the use of these pathways, we have generated a large compendium of pathways under different growth conditions for E. coli. The MetPath algorithm provides a useful tool for metabolic network-based statistical analyses of high-throughput data

Quantifying Mitochondrial and Plasma Membrane Potentials in Intact Pulmonary Arterial Endothelial Cells Based on Extracellular Disposition of Rhodamine Dyes

Our goal was to quantify mitochondrial and plasma potential (Δψm and Δψp) based on the disposition of rhodamine 123 (R123) or tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE) in the medium surrounding pulmonary endothelial cells. Dyes were added to the medium, and their concentrations in extracellular medium ([Re]) were measured over time. R123 [Re] fell from 10 nM to 6.6 ± 0.1 (SE) nM over 120 min. TMRE [Re] fell from 20 nM to a steady state of 4.9 ± 0.4 nM after ∼30 min. Protonophore or high K+ concentration ([K+]), used to manipulate contributions of membrane potentials, attenuated decreases in [Re], and P-glycoprotein (Pgp) inhibition had the opposite effect, demonstrating the qualitative impact of these processes on [Re]. A kinetic model incorporating a modified Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz model was fit to [Re] vs. time data for R123 and TMRE, respectively, under various conditions to obtain (means ± 95% confidence intervals) Δψm (−130 ± 7 and −133 ± 4 mV), Δψp (−36 ± 4 and −49 ± 4 mV), and a Pgp activity parameter (KPgp, 25 ± 5 and 51 ± 11 μl/min). The higher membrane permeability of TMRE also allowed application of steady-state analysis to obtain Δψm (−124 ± 6 mV). The consistency of kinetic parameter values obtained from R123 and TMRE data demonstrates the utility of this experimental and theoretical approach for quantifying intact cell Δψm and Δψp. Finally, steady-state analysis revealed that although room air- and hyperoxia-exposed (95% O2 for 48 h) cells have equivalent resting Δψm, hyperoxic cell Δψm was more sensitive to depolarization with protonophore, consistent with previous observations of pulmonary endothelial hyperoxia-induced mitochondrial dysfunction

Endothelin receptor B, a candidate gene from human studies at high altitude, improves cardiac tolerance to hypoxia in genetically engineered heterozygote mice.

To better understand human adaptation to stress, and in particular to hypoxia, we took advantage of one of nature's experiments at high altitude (HA) and studied Ethiopians, a population that is well-adapted to HA hypoxic stress. Using whole-genome sequencing, we discovered that EDNRB (Endothelin receptor type B) is a candidate gene involved in HA adaptation. To test whether EDNRB plays a critical role in hypoxia tolerance and adaptation, we generated EdnrB knockout mice and found that when EdnrB (-/+) heterozygote mice are treated with lower levels of oxygen (O2), they tolerate various levels of hypoxia (even extreme hypoxia, e.g., 5% O2) very well. For example, they maintain ejection fraction, cardiac contractility, and cardiac output in severe hypoxia. Furthermore, O2 delivery to vital organs was significantly higher and blood lactate was lower in EdnrB (-/+) compared with wild type in hypoxia. Tissue hypoxia in brain, heart, and kidney was lower in EdnrB (-/+) mice as well. These data demonstrate that a lower level of EDNRB significantly improves cardiac performance and tissue perfusion under various levels of hypoxia. Transcriptomic profiling of left ventricles revealed three specific genes [natriuretic peptide type A (Nppa), sarcolipin (Sln), and myosin light polypeptide 4 (Myl4)] that were oppositely expressed (q < 0.05) between EdnrB (-/+) and wild type. Functions related to these gene networks were consistent with a better cardiac contractility and performance. We conclude that EDNRB plays a key role in hypoxia tolerance and that a lower level of EDNRB contributes, at least in part, to HA adaptation in humans

Prolonged Exposure to Microgravity Reduces Cardiac Contractility and Initiates Remodeling in Drosophila.

Understanding the effects of microgravity on human organs is crucial to exploration of low-earth orbit, the moon, and beyond. Drosophila can be sent to space in large numbers to examine the effects of microgravity on heart structure and function, which is fundamentally conserved from flies to humans. Flies reared in microgravity exhibit cardiac constriction with myofibrillar remodeling and diminished output. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in isolated hearts revealed reduced expression of sarcomeric/extracellular matrix (ECM) genes and dramatically increased proteasomal gene expression, consistent with the observed compromised, smaller hearts and suggesting abnormal proteostasis. This was examined further on a second flight in which we found dramatically elevated proteasome aggregates co-localizing with increased amyloid and polyQ deposits. Remarkably, in long-QT causing sei/hERG mutants, proteasomal gene expression at 1g, although less than the wild-type expression, was nevertheless increased in microgravity. Therefore, cardiac remodeling and proteostatic stress may be a fundamental response of heart muscle to microgravity