In preterm infants, exposure to inflammation increases the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic, developmental lung disease. Although macrophages are the key cells that initiate lung inflammation, less is known about lung macrophage phenotype and maturation. We hypothesized that fetal lung macrophages mature into distinct subpopulations during mouse development, and that activation cou...

The mannose receptor is a single polypeptide transmembrane glycoprotein expressed on the surface of macrophages that binds and internalizes soluble and particulate ligands. Physiological ligands for this receptor are pathogens, such as mycobacteria, and extracellular acid hydrolases and peroxidases. Expression of the mannose receptor is tightly linked to the functional state of the macrophage: ...

Microvesicles (MVs) released from almost all cells are recognized as cell communication tools. MVs have been investigated in several inflammatory diseases but poorly biological fluids like bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of smokers. The purpose this study was to investigate the presence and source BAL smokers with without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared nonsmoking controls. U...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate (1) whether alveolar macrophages are activated as a consequence of acute pancreatitis (AP), (2) the implication of inflammatory factors released by these macrophages in the process of neutrophil migration into the lungs observed in lung injury induced by AP, and (3) the role of the liver in the activation of alveolar macrophages. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Acute lung injury...

Acute inflammatory injury in rat lung induced by deposition of immunoglobulin G immune complexes requires expression of cytokines and chemokines as well as activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB. There is little direct evidence regarding the role of alveolar macrophages in these activation events. In the present studies, rat lungs were depleted of alveolar macrophages...

We report that mice deficient for the hematopoietic-specific, actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) succumb rapidly to intratracheal pneumococcal infection. The increased susceptibility of LPL(-/-) mice to pulmonary pneumococcal challenge correlated with reduced numbers of alveolar macrophages, consistent with a critical role for this cell type in the immediate response to pneumococcal infecti...

Objective: To determine whether global reduction of CD68 (cluster differentiation) macrophages impacts the development experimental pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and this affects balance pro- anti-inflammatory within lung. Additionally, to there is evidence an altered macrophage polarization in patients with PAH. Approach Results: Macrophage was induced mice via doxycycline-induced CD68...

Human alveolar macrophages were lavaged from surgically resected lungs and from lungs of normal subjects. Macrophages that had been purified by glass adherence were maintained in tissue culture for as long as 54 days. After 3-4 wk in vitro they underwent transformation into multinucleated giant cells. These aged cells had more than 30 times the phagocytic capacity that the same group of cells h...

Recent studies have demonstrated that different antigen-presenting cell (APC)-related factors in the microenvironment of a T cell may determine its profile and quantity of cytokine expression and production. We have therefore examined the effects of alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood monocytes on interleukin (IL)-5 production by peripheral blood CD4+ T cells from atopic people with asthm...