The early growth response gene (Egr-1) codes for a zinc finger transcription factor that has important roles in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Aberrant Egr-1 expression is implicated in carcinogenesis, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and ischemic injury. We reported previously that normal fibroblasts stimulated by transforming growth factor-ß showed rapid and transient induction of Egr-1. Moreover, we observed that tissue expression of Egr-1 was elevated in patients with scleroderma, which suggests that Egr-1 may be involved in tissue repair and fibrosis. Here, we investigated matrix remodeling and wound healing in mice harboring gain of function or loss of function mutations of Egr-1. Using the model of bleomycin-induced scleroderma, we found that the early influx of inflammatory cells into the skin and lungs, and the subsequent development of fibrosis in these organs, were markedly attenuated in Egr-1 null mice. Furthermore, full-thickness incisional skin wound healing was impaired, and skin fibroblasts lacking Egr-1 showed reduced migration and myofibroblast transdifferentiation in vitro. In contrast, transgenic mice with fibroblast-specific Egr-1 overexpression showed exuberant tissue repair, with enhanced collagen accumulation and increased tensile strength of incisional wounds. Together, these results point to the fundamental role that Egr-1 plays in the regulation of transforming growth factor-ß-dependent physiological and pathological matrix

Hypercapnia, an elevation of the level of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in blood and tissues, is a marker of poor prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other pulmonary disorders. We previously reported that hypercapnia inhibits the expression of TNF and IL-6 and phagocytosis in macrophages in vitro. In the present study, we determined the effects of normoxic hypercapnia (10% CO 2 , 21% O 2 , and 69% N 2 ) on outcomes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia in BALB/c mice and on pulmonary neutrophil function. We found that the mortality of P. aeruginosa pneumonia was increased in 10% CO 2 -exposed compared with air-exposed mice. Hypercapnia increased pneumonia mortality similarly in mice with acute and chronic respiratory acidosis, indicating an effect unrelated to the degree of acidosis. Exposure to 10% CO 2 increased the burden of P. aeruginosa in the lungs, spleen, and liver, but did not alter lung injury attributable to pneumonia. Hypercapnia did not reduce pulmonary neutrophil recruitment during infection, but alveolar neutrophils from 10% CO 2 -exposed mice phagocytosed fewer bacteria and produced less H 2 O 2 than neutrophils from air-exposed mice. Secretion of IL-6 and TNF in the lungs of 10% CO 2 -exposed mice was decreased 7 hours, but not 15 hours, after the onset of pneumonia, indicating that hypercapnia inhibited the early cytokine response to infection. The increase in pneumonia mortality caused by elevated CO 2 was reversible when hypercapnic mice were returned to breathing air before or immediately after infection. These results suggest that hypercapnia may increase the susceptibility to and/or worsen the outcome of lung infections in patients with severe lung disease.Keywords: carbon dioxide; pulmonary infection; reactive oxygen species; phagocytosis; inflammation Hypercapnia occurs in patients with severe acute and chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), currently the third leading cause of death in the United States (1). Individuals with COPD and other chronic respiratory disorders are also at risk for the development of acute respiratory failure, which may be accompanied by acute or acute-on-chronic hypercapnia. In addition, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and status asthmaticus may develop hypercapnia.Hypercapnia has long been recognized as a marker of poor prognosis in patients with COPD, among whom pulmonary infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality (2-6). Hypercapnia is also an independent risk factor for mortality in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia and in patients with cystic fibrosis awaiting lung transplantation (7-10). Moreover, hypercapnic patients with acute respiratory failure can develop ventilatorassociated pneumonia, which prolongs intensive care unit and hospital stays, and carries a mortality rate of 33-50% (11). On the other hand, in some studies, hypercapnia accompanying low tidal volume mechanical ventilation ("permissive hypercapnia") has been associated with reduced mor...

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Hypercapnia, the elevation of CO2 in blood and tissue, commonly develops in patients with advanced lung disease and severe pulmonary infections, and is associated with high mortality. We previously reported that hypercapnia alters expression of host defense genes, inhibits phagocytosis, and increases the mortality of Pseudomonas pneumonia in mice. However, the effect of hypercapnia on autophagy, a conserved process by which cells sequester and degrade proteins and damaged organelles that also plays a key role in antimicrobial host defense and pathogen clearance, has not previously been examined. In the present study we show that hypercapnia inhibits autophagy induced by starvation, rapamycin, LPS, heat-killed and live bacteria in the human macrophage. Inhibition of autophagy by elevated CO2 was not attributable to acidosis. Hypercapnia also reduced macrophage killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, elevated CO2 induced the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, anti-apoptotic factors that negatively regulate autophagy by blocking Beclin 1, an essential component of the autophagy initiation complex. Furthermore, siRNA targeting Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL and the small molecule Z36, which blocks Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL binding to Beclin 1, prevented hypercapnic inhibition of autophagy and bacterial killing. These results suggest that targeting the Bcl-2/Bcl-xL-Beclin 1 interaction may hold promise for ameliorating hypercapnia-induced immunosuppression and improving resistance to infection in patients with advanced lung disease and hypercapnia.