Chloride and potassium channel function in alveolar epithelial cells

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. L689-L700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M. O'Grady ◽  
So Yeong Lee

Electrolyte transport across the adult alveolar epithelium plays an important role in maintaining a thin fluid layer along the apical surface of the alveolus that facilitates gas exchange across the epithelium. Most of the work published on the transport properties of alveolar epithelial cells has focused on the mechanisms and regulation of Na+ transport and, in particular, the role of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels in the apical membrane and the Na+-K+-ATPase located in the basolateral membrane. Less is known about the identity and role of Cl− and K+ channels in alveolar epithelial cells, but studies are revealing important functions for these channels in regulation of alveolar fluid volume and ionic composition. The purpose of this review is to examine previous work published on Cl− and K+ channels in alveolar epithelial cells and to discuss the conclusions and speculations regarding their role in alveolar cell transport function.

2021 ◽  
Vol 320 (4) ◽  
pp. L627-L639
Author(s):  
Xiaoqian Shi ◽  
Xiaojie An ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
Zhipeng Wu ◽  
Danni Zan ◽  
...  

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by acute lung injury (ALI) secondary to an excessive alveolar inflammatory response. Reticulocalbin 3 (Rcn3) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen protein in the secretory pathway. We previously reported the indispensable role of Rcn3 in type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECIIs) during lung development and the lung injury repair process. In the present study, we further observed a marked induction of Rcn3 in the alveolar epithelium during LPS-induced ALI. In vitro alveolar epithelial (MLE-12) cells consistently exhibited a significant induction of Rcn3 accompanied with NF-κB activation in response to LPS exposure. We examined the role of Rcn3 in the alveolar inflammatory response by using mice with a selective deletion of Rcn3 in alveolar epithelial cells upon doxycycline administration. The Rcn3 deficiency significantly blunted the ALI and alveolar inflammation induced by intratracheal LPS instillation but not that induced by an intraperitoneal LPS injection (secondary insult); the alleviated ALI was accompanied by decreases in NF-κB activation and NLRP3 levels but not in GRP78 and cleaved caspase-3 levels. The studies conducted in MLE-12 cells consistently showed that Rcn3 knockdown blunted the activations of NF-κB signaling and NLRP3-dependent inflammasome upon LPS exposure. Collectively, these findings suggest a novel role for Rcn3 in regulating the alveolar inflammatory response to pulmonary infection via the NF-κB/NLRP3/inflammasome axis and shed additional light on the mechanism of ARDS/ALI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Prescott ◽  
Kari Fine-Coulson ◽  
Maureen Metcalfe ◽  
Tuhina Gupta ◽  
Michelle Dookwah ◽  
...  

AbstractAlthough interactions with alveolar macrophages have been well characterized for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the roles epithelial cells play during infection and disease development have been less studied. We have previously shown that deletion of gene rv3351c reduces M. tuberculosis replication in and necrosis of A549 human type II pneumocyte cells. In the present study, we report that rv3351c is required for lipid raft aggregation on A549 cell plasma membranes during M. tuberculosis infection. Lipid raft aggregation was also induced directly by recombinant Rv3351c protein. A Δrv3351c deletion mutant was less effective than wild type M. tuberculosis at circumventing phagolysosome fusion in A549 cells as evidenced by increased co-localization with lysosomal markers LAMP-2 and cathepsin-L by the mutant bacilli. These observations indicate a role for Rv3351c in modification of the plasma membrane to facilitate trafficking and survival of M. tuberculosis bacilli through alveolar epithelial cells, and support the hypothesis that M. tuberculosis has mechanisms to target the alveolar epithelium. Preliminary data also demonstrate that like the type II pneumocyte-targeting M. tuberculosis secreted protein heparin-binding filamentous hemagglutinin (HBHA), Rv3351c is detected by the host cellular and humoral immune responses during infection, and may play an important role in mycobacterial dissemination from the lungs.Author summaryMycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading causes of death due to a single infectious agent and many facets regarding the pathogenesis of this organism remain unknown. This facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen often establishes infection through inhalation of the bacilli into the alveoli of the lungs. Interactions with alveolar macrophages have been well characterized and it had been assumed that these interactions with phagocytic cells primarily determine the fate of the disease. However, alveolar epithelial cells, such as type II pneumocytes, play important roles in disease progression of other bacterial and viral respiratory pathogens, which provided the impetus to more-closely examine pneumocyte-M. tuberculosis interactions. We describe in this study the role of the M. tuberculosis rv3351c gene product in the internalization and survival of this pathogen in human type II pneumocytes. We previously showed that a Δrv3351c mutant replicates less efficiently and generates less necrosis than the parental M. tuberculosis strain in this cell type. We demonstrate herein that Rv3351c protein induces lipid raft aggregation on the membranes of alveolar epithelial cells and that M. tuberculosis Δrv3351c traffics through LAMP-2-labeled endosomes 30% more frequently than the parent strain. This trafficking toward phagolysosomes may underlie the reduced replication and cytotoxicity of the mutant. The role of Rv3351c in trafficking and survival of M. tuberculosis bacilli through epithelial cells ultimately resulting in dissemination from the lungs may begin with modifications to the plasma membrane prior to attachment. Such a mechanism of activity suggests Rv3351c as a potential vaccine target to train the host immune system to bind and eliminate the protein before it modulates the alveolar epithelium.


2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1767-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz de Astorza ◽  
Guadalupe Cortés ◽  
Catalina Crespí ◽  
Carles Saus ◽  
José María Rojo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The airway epithelium represents a primary site for contact between microbes and their hosts. To assess the role of complement in this event, we studied the interaction between the A549 cell line derived from human alveolar epithelial cells and a major nosocomial pathogen, Klebsiella pneumoniae, in the presence of serum. In vitro, we found that C3 opsonization of poorly encapsulated K. pneumoniae clinical isolates and an unencapsulated mutant enhanced dramatically bacterial internalization by A549 epithelial cells compared to highly encapsulated clinical isolates. Local complement components (either present in the human bronchoalveolar lavage or produced by A549 epithelial cells) were sufficient to opsonize K. pneumoniae. CD46 could competitively inhibit the internalization of K. pneumoniae by the epithelial cells, suggesting that CD46 is a receptor for the binding of complement-opsonized K. pneumoniae to these cells. We observed that poorly encapsulated strains appeared into the alveolar epithelial cells in vivo but that (by contrast) they were completely avirulent in a mouse model of pneumonia compared to the highly encapsulated strains. Our results show that bacterial opsonization by complement enhances the internalization of the avirulent microorganisms by nonphagocytic cells such as A549 epithelial cells and allows an efficient innate defense.


Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Salton ◽  
Maria Volpe ◽  
Marco Confalonieri

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious disease of the lung, which leads to extensive parenchymal scarring and death from respiratory failure. The most accepted hypothesis for IPF pathogenesis relies on the inability of the alveolar epithelium to regenerate after injury. Alveolar epithelial cells become apoptotic and rare, fibroblasts/myofibroblasts accumulate and extracellular matrix (ECM) is deposited in response to the aberrant activation of several pathways that are physiologically implicated in alveologenesis and repair but also favor the creation of excessive fibrosis via different mechanisms, including epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT is a pathophysiological process in which epithelial cells lose part of their characteristics and markers, while gaining mesenchymal ones. A role for EMT in the pathogenesis of IPF has been widely hypothesized and indirectly demonstrated; however, precise definition of its mechanisms and relevance has been hindered by the lack of a reliable animal model and needs further studies. The overall available evidence conceptualizes EMT as an alternative cell and tissue normal regeneration, which could open the way to novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, as well as to more effective treatment options.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1354-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Merchant ◽  
M. W. Peterson ◽  
G. W. Hunninghake

Alveolar epithelial cell injury and increased alveolar-capillary membrane permeability are important features of acute silicosis. To determine whether silica particles contribute directly to this increased permeability, we measured paracellular permeability of rat alveolar epithelium after exposure to silica, in vitro, using markers of the extracellular space. Silica (Minusil) markedly increased permeability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This was not the result of cytolytic injury, because lactate dehydrogenase release from monolayers exposed to silica was not increased. Pretreatment of the silica with serum, charged dextrans, or aluminum sulfate blocked the increase in permeability. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated adherence of the silica to the surface of the alveolar epithelial cells. Thus silica can directly increase permeability of alveolar epithelium.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. C82-C92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer I. Danto ◽  
Zea Borok ◽  
Xiao-Ling Zhang ◽  
Melissa Z. Lopez ◽  
Paryus Patel ◽  
...  

We investigated the effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on active Na+ absorption by alveolar epithelium. Rat alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) were isolated and cultivated in serum-free medium on tissue culture-treated polycarbonate filters. mRNA for rat epithelial Na+ channel (rENaC) α-, β-, and γ-subunits and Na+ pump α1- and β1-subunits were detected in day 4 monolayers by Northern analysis and were unchanged in abundance in day 5 monolayers in the absence of EGF. Monolayers cultivated in the presence of EGF (20 ng/ml) for 24 h from day 4 to day 5 showed an increase in both α1 and β1Na+ pump subunit mRNA but no increase in rENaC subunit mRNA. EGF-treated monolayers showed parallel increases in Na+ pump α1- and β1-subunit protein by immunoblot relative to untreated monolayers. Fixed AEC monolayers demonstrated predominantly membrane-associated immunofluorescent labeling with anti-Na+ pump α1- and β1-subunit antibodies, with increased intensity of cell labeling for both subunits seen at 24 h following exposure to EGF. These changes in Na+ pump mRNA and protein preceded a delayed (>12 h) increase in short-current circuit (measure of active transepithelial Na+transport) across monolayers treated with EGF compared with untreated monolayers. We conclude that EGF increases active Na+ resorption across AEC monolayers primarily via direct effects on Na+ pump subunit mRNA expression and protein synthesis, leading to increased numbers of functional Na+ pumps in the basolateral membranes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (2) ◽  
pp. L398-L408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Murphy ◽  
Vladimir V. Cherny ◽  
Deri Morgan ◽  
Thomas E. DeCoursey

Voltage-gated proton channels are expressed highly in rat alveolar epithelial cells. Here we investigated whether these channels contribute to pH regulation. The intracellular pH (pHi) was monitored using BCECF in cultured alveolar epithelial cell monolayers and found to be 7.13 in nominally HCO3−-free solutions [at external pH (pHo) 7.4]. Cells were acid-loaded by the NH4+ prepulse technique, and the recovery was observed. Under conditions designed to eliminate the contribution of other transporters that alter pH, addition of 10 μM ZnCl2, a proton channel inhibitor, slowed recovery about twofold. In addition, the pHi minimum was lower, and the time to nadir was increased. Slowing of recovery by ZnCl2 was observed at pHo 7.4 and pHo 8.0 and in normal and high-K+ Ringer solutions. The observed rate of Zn2+-sensitive pHi recovery required activation of a small fraction of the available proton conductance. We conclude that proton channels contribute to pHi recovery after an acid load in rat alveolar epithelial cells. Addition of ZnCl2 had no effect on pHi in unchallenged cells, consistent with the expectation that proton channels are not open in resting cells. After inhibition of all known pH regulators, slow pHi recovery persisted, suggesting the existence of a yet-undefined acid extrusion mechanism in these cells.


2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Pero ◽  
N. Mirabella ◽  
P. Lombardi ◽  
C. Squillacioti ◽  
A. De Luca ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the present study, the rôle of gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT) during lactation has been investigated in the water buffalo. GGT activity has been evaluated in the mammary tissue at 4 and 6 months after calving and during the non-lactating period. The highest GGT activity levels were found at day 120 (32·57±7·41 U per g) of lactation and were statistically higher than those at 180 (10·76±3·6 U per g) or during the non-lactating period (9·86±7·94 U per g). Histochemistry confirmed these findings and revealed that GGT reactivity was distributed throughout the cytoplasm of alveolar epithelial cells. Such results showed that the GGT production is high during lactation thus supporting the hypothesis that this enzyme plays a rôle in determining milk production in water buffalo by supporting milk protein synthesis.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. L32-L39 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Wikenheiser ◽  
S. E. Wert ◽  
J. R. Wispe ◽  
M. Stahlman ◽  
M. D'Amore-Bruno ◽  
...  

Hyperoxia causes severe lung injury in association with altered expression of surfactant proteins and lipids. To test whether oxygen induces surfactant protein B (SP-B) expression in specific respiratory epithelial cells, adult B6C3F1 and FVB/N mice were exposed to room air or 95% oxygen for 1–5 days. Northern blot analysis demonstrated an 8- to 10-fold increase in SP-B mRNA after 3 days that was maintained thereafter. In situ hybridization localized SP-B mRNA to bronchial, bronchiolar, and alveolar epithelial cells. Hyperoxia was associated with increased SP-B mRNA, noted primarily in the bronchiolar epithelium and decreased SP-B mRNA in the alveolar epithelium. After 5 days, central regions of lung parenchyma were nearly devoid of SP-B mRNA, while SP-B mRNA was maintained in alveolar cell populations close to vascular structures. To determine whether increased bronchiolar expression of SP-B mRNA during hyperoxia was a specific response, the abundance of CC10 mRNA (a Clara cell protein) was assessed. CC10 mRNA was detected in tracheal, bronchial, and bronchiolar, but not alveolar epithelium and was decreased upon exposure to hyperoxia. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that SP-B proprotein was detected in bronchial, bronchiolar, and alveolar epithelial cells with staining increased in the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium upon exposure to hyperoxia. SP-B gene expression in the respiratory epithelium is regulated at a pretranslational level and occurs in a cell specific manner during hyperoxic injury in the mouse.


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