INTRODUCTION Acute pancreatitis (AP) protease release induces lung parenchymal destruction via inflammatory mediators. Ginkgo biloba has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. AIM To evaluate the effect of ginkgo biloba extract on experimental acute pancreatitis-associated lung injury in the rat and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. MATERIAL AND METHODS Acute pancreatitis ...

BACKGROUND Microvesicles (MVs) are important mediators of intercellular communication, packaging a variety of molecular cargo. They have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various inflammatory diseases; yet, their role in acute lung injury (ALI) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES We aimed to identify the biological activity and functional role of intra-alveolar MVs in ALI. METHODS Lipopolys...

Maintenance of tissue-specific organ lipid compositions characterizes mammalian lipid homeostasis. The lungs and liver synthesize mixed phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecular species that are subsequently tailored for function. The lungs progressively enrich disaturated PC directed to lamellar body surfactant stores before secretion. The liver accumulates polyunsaturated PC directed to very-low-den...

BACKGROUND MIF is a critical mediator of the host defense, and is involved in both acute and chronic responses in the lung. Neutralization of MIF reduces neutrophil accumulation into the lung in animal models. We hypothesized that MIF, in the alveolar space, promotes neutrophil accumulation via activation of the CD74 receptor on macrophages. METHODS To determine whether macrophage CD74 surfac...

Macrophage CSF (M-CSF) regulates monocyte differentiation, activation, and foam cell formation. We have observed that it is elevated in human pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) and in the GM-CSF knockout mouse, a murine model for PAP. A potential regulator of M-CSF, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma), is severely deficient in both human PAP and the GM-CSF knockout mo...

Alveolar macrophages represent a first-line innate host defense mechanism for clearing inhaled Aspergillus fumigatus from the lungs, yet contradictory data exist as to which alveolar macrophage recognition receptor is critical for innate immunity to A. fumigatus. Acknowledging that the A. fumigatus cell wall contains a high beta-1,3-glucan content, we questioned whether the beta-glucan receptor...

Monoclonal antibody to la-like antigens was used to demonstrate the presence of these antigens on human alveolar macrophages. Immunoprecipitation demonstrated the 27,000 and 34,000 molecular weight peaks that correspond to the la-like antigen subunits. Immunofluorescence confirmed the presence of la-like antigens on alveolar macrophages but not on other bronchoalveolar cells. The presence of al...

A commercially acquired anti-human macrophage antibody (anti-CD68; EBM11) was used in an immunocytochemical technique to detect macrophages in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from cattle, pigs, humans, rats, turkeys, dogs, and cats. In healthy cattle, the antibody labeled alveolar macrophages, pulmonary intravascular cells (presumably intravascular macrophages), and macrophage-like ce...

Alcohol abuse dramatically increases the risk of acute lung injury. In an experimental rat model of ethanol-mediated susceptibility to lung injury, recombinant granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) restored alveolar epithelial barrier function both in vitro and in vivo, even during acute endotoxemia. These findings suggested that the alveolar epithelium, which secretes GM-CS...

The effect of surface tension on alveolar macrophage shape and phagocytosis was assessed in vivo and in vitro. Surface tension was regulated in vivo by conditionally expressing surfactant protein (SP)-B in Sftpb-/- mice. Increased surface tension and respiratory distress were produced by depletion of SP-B and were readily reversed by repletion of SP-B in vivo. Electron microscopy was used to de...