New evidence indicates that neural mechanisms can down-regulate acute inflammation. In these studies, we tested the potential role of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha7 nAChR) in a rodent model of acid-induced acute lung injury. We first determined that the alpha7 nAChR was expressed by alveolar macrophages and lung epithelial cells. Then, using an acid-induced acute lung injur...

BACKGROUND Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is the single-most common pathogen of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Large quantities of PA in the trachea of ventilated patients are associated with an increased risk of death. However, the role of PA colonization in PA VAP-induced lung injury remains elusive. This study examined the effect and mechanism of PA colonization in VAP-induced lung inju...

The spectrum of nitrofurantoin lung injury continues to widen. The case histories are presented of two patients who developed lung disease associated with the use of nitrofurantoin with histological features of bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia (BOOP), a rare but recognised form of drug induced injury. The two middle aged women presented with respiratory symptoms after prolonged tre...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a devastating disease that causes substantial morbidity and mortality. Mechanical ventilation can worsen lung injury, whereas ventilatory strategies that reduce lung stretch, resulting in a "permissive" hypercapnic acidosis (HCA), improve outcome. HCA directly reduces nonsepsis-induced lung injury in preclinical models and, therefore, has therapeutic poten...

We previously reported protective effects of GADD45a (growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible gene 45 alpha) in murine ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) via effects on Akt-mediated endothelial cell signaling. In the present study we investigated the role of GADD45a in separate murine models of radiation- and bleomycin-induced lung injury. Initial studies of wild-type mice subjected to single...

The pathogenesis of acute lung injury includes transendothelial diapedesis of leukocytes into lung tissues and disruption of endothelial/epithelial barriers leading to protein-rich oedema. In vitro studies show that the microtubule network plays a role in the regulation of endothelial permeability as well as in neutrophil locomotion. It was hypothesised that the microtubule-stabilising agent, t...

Su X, Looney MR, Gupta N, Matthay MA. Receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is an indicator of direct lung injury in models of experimental lung injury. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 297: L1–L5, 2009. First published May 1, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajplung.90546.2008.—Receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is a marker of alveolar type I cells and is elevated in the pulm...

The objective of this study was to determine whether endogenous nitric oxide (NO), specifically the inducible NO synthase isoform (iNOS: NOS II), reduces or amplifies lung injury in mice breathing at a high oxygen tension. Previous studies have shown that exogenous (inhaled) NO protects against hyperoxia-induced lung injury, and that endogenous NO derived from iNOS inhibits leukocyte recruitmen...

The spectrum of nitrofurantoin lung injury continues to widen. The case histories are presented of two patients who developed lung disease associated with the use of nitrofurantoin with histological features of bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia (BOOP), a rare but recognised form of drug induced injury. The two middle aged women presented with respiratory symptoms after prolonged tre...

The effect of antibiotics on the acute lung injury induced by virulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA103 was quantitatively analyzed in a rat model. Lung injury was induced by the instillation of PA103 directly into the right lower lobes of the lungs of anesthetized rats. The alveolar epithelial injury, extravascular lung water, and total plasma equivalents were measured as separate, independent par...