Diffuse Alveolar Damage: A Common Phenomenon in Progressive Interstitial Lung Disorders

It has become obvious that several interstitial lung diseases, and even viral lung infections, can progress rapidly, and exhibit similar features in their lung morphology. The final histopathological feature, common in these lung disorders, is diffuse alveolar damage (DAD). The histopathology of DAD is considered to represent end stage phenomenon in acutely behaving interstitial pneumonias, such as acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) and acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Acute worsening and DAD may occur also in patients with nonspecific interstitial pneumonias (NSIPs), and even in severe viral lung infections where there is DAD histopathology in the lung. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the DAD reaction is needed to clarify the treatment for these serious lung diseases. There is an urgent need for international efforts for studying DAD-associated lung diseases, since the prognosis of these patients has been and is still dismal

Airway biomarkers of the oxidant burden in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:current and future perspectives

Noora Louhelainen1, Marjukka Myllärniemi1, Irfan Rahman2, Vuokko L Kinnula11Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; 2Department of Environmental Medicine and the Lung Biology and Disease Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USAAbstract: The pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been claimed to be attributable to increased systemic and local oxidative stress. Detection of the oxidant burden and evaluation of their progression and phenotypes by oxidant biomarkers have proved challenging and difficult. A large number of asthmatics are cigarette smokers and smoke itself contains oxidants complicating further the use of oxidant biomarkers. One of the most widely used oxidant markers in asthma is exhaled nitric oxide (NO), which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma and disease monitoring. Another oxidant marker that has been widely investigated in COPD is 8-isoprostane, but it is probably not capable of differentiating asthma from COPD, or even sensitive in the early assessment of these diseases. None of the current biomarkers have been shown to be better than exhaled NO in asthma. There is a need to identify new biomarkers for obstructive airway diseases, especially their differential diagnosis. A comprehensive evaluation of oxidant markers and their combinations will be presented in this review. In brief, it seems that additional analyses utilizing powerful tools such as genomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, and proteomics will be required to improve the specificity and sensitivity of the next generation of biomarkers.Keywords: sputum, condensate, smoking, nitric oxide, 8-isoprostane, biomarke

Glutathione s-transferase omega in the lung and sputum supernatants of COPD patients

BACKGROUND: The major contribution to oxidant related lung damage in COPD is from the oxidant/antioxidant imbalance and possibly impaired antioxidant defence. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most important antioxidants in human lung and lung secretions, but the mechanisms participating in its homeostasis are partly unclear. Glutathione-S-transferase omega (GSTO) is a recently characterized cysteine containing enzyme with the capability to bind and release GSH in vitro. GSTO has not been investigated in human lung or lung diseases. METHODS: GSTO1-1 was investigated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis in 72 lung tissue specimens and 40 sputum specimens from non-smokers, smokers and COPD, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in plasma from healthy non-smokers and smokers. It was also examined in human monocytes and bronchial epithelial cells and their culture mediums in vitro. RESULTS: GSTO1-1 was mainly expressed in alveolar macrophages, but it was also found in airway and alveolar epithelium and in extracellular fluids including sputum supernatants, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, plasma and cell culture mediums. The levels of GSTO1-1 were significantly lower in the sputum supernatants (p = 0.023) and lung homogenates (p = 0.003) of COPD patients than in nonsmokers. CONCLUSION: GSTO1-1 is abundant in the alveolar macrophages, but it is also present in extracellular fluids and in airway secretions, the levels being decreased in COPD. The clinical significance of GSTO1-1 and its role in regulating GSH homeostasis in airway secretions, however, needs further investigations

Elevation of sputum matrix metalloproteinase-9 persists up to 6 months after smoking cessation : a research study

Peer reviewe

Hemoglobin alpha and beta are ubiquitous in the human lung, decline in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis but not in COPD

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are disorders of the lung parenchyma. They share the common denominators of a progressive nature and poor prognosis. The goal was to use non-biased proteomics to discover new markers for these diseases. Methods: Proteomics of fibrotic vs. control lung tissue suggested decreased levels of several spots in the lung specimens of IPF patients, which were identified as Hemoglobin (Hb) alpha and beta monomers and Hb alpha complexes. The Hb alpha and beta monomers and complexes were investigated in more detail in normal lung and lung specimens of patients with IPF and COPD by immunohistochemistry, morphometry and mass spectrometry (MS). Results: Both Hb monomers, in normal lung, were expressed especially in the alveolar epithelium. Levels of Hb alpha and beta monomers and complexes were reduced/lost in IPF but not in the COPD lungs when compared to control lung. MS-analyses revealed Hb alpha modification at cysteine105 (Cys alpha 105), preventing formation of the Hb alpha complexes in the IPF lungs. Hb alpha and Hb beta were expressed as complexes and monomers in the lung tissues, but were secreted into the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and/or induced sputum supernatants as complexes corresponding to the molecular weight of the Hb tetramer. Conclusions: The abundant expression of the oxygen carrier molecule Hb in the normal lung epithelium and its decline in IPF lung are new findings. The loss of Hb complex formation in IPF warrants further studies and may be considered as a disease-specific modification

Gene expression profiles in asbestos-exposed epithelial and mesothelial lung cell lines

BACKGROUND: Asbestos has been shown to cause chromosomal damage and DNA aberrations. Exposure to asbestos causes many lung diseases e.g. asbestosis, malignant mesothelioma, and lung cancer, but the disease-related processes are still largely unknown. We exposed the human cell lines A549, Beas-2B and Met5A to crocidolite asbestos and determined time-dependent gene expression profiles by using Affymetrix arrays. The hybridization data was analyzed by using an algorithm specifically designed for clustering of short time series expression data. A canonical correlation analysis was applied to identify correlations between the cell lines, and a Gene Ontology analysis method for the identification of enriched, differentially expressed biological processes. RESULTS: We recognized a large number of previously known as well as new potential asbestos-associated genes and biological processes, and identified chromosomal regions enriched with genes potentially contributing to common responses to asbestos in these cell lines. These include genes such as the thioredoxin domain containing gene (TXNDC) and the potential tumor suppressor, BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19kD-interacting protein gene (BNIP3L), GO-terms such as "positive regulation of I-kappaB kinase/NF-kappaB cascade" and "positive regulation of transcription, DNA-dependent", and chromosomal regions such as 2p22, 9p13, and 14q21. We present the complete data sets as Additional files. CONCLUSION: This study identifies several interesting targets for further investigation in relation to asbestos-associated diseases

NF-kappa B Inducing Kinase, NIK Mediates Cigarette Smoke/TNF alpha-Induced Histone Acetylation and Inflammation through Differential Activation of IKKs

Peer reviewe

Glutathione S-transferase omega in the lung and sputum supernatants of COPD patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The major contribution to oxidant related lung damage in COPD is from the oxidant/antioxidant imbalance and possibly impaired antioxidant defence. Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most important antioxidants in human lung and lung secretions, but the mechanisms participating in its homeostasis are partly unclear. Glutathione-S-transferase omega (GSTO) is a recently characterized cysteine containing enzyme with the capability to bind and release GSH <it>in vitro</it>. GSTO has not been investigated in human lung or lung diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>GSTO1-1 was investigated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis in 72 lung tissue specimens and 40 sputum specimens from non-smokers, smokers and COPD, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in plasma from healthy non-smokers and smokers. It was also examined in human monocytes and bronchial epithelial cells and their culture mediums <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>GSTO1-1 was mainly expressed in alveolar macrophages, but it was also found in airway and alveolar epithelium and in extracellular fluids including sputum supernatants, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, plasma and cell culture mediums. The levels of GSTO1-1 were significantly lower in the sputum supernatants (p = 0.023) and lung homogenates (p = 0.003) of COPD patients than in non-smokers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>GSTO1-1 is abundant in the alveolar macrophages, but it is also present in extracellular fluids and in airway secretions, the levels being decreased in COPD. The clinical significance of GSTO1-1 and its role in regulating GSH homeostasis in airway secretions, however, needs further investigations.</p