[Abstract unavailable

E2 attenuates hemodynamic and remodeling parameters in HPH in an ER-dependent manner, through direct antiproliferative mechanisms on vascular cells, which may provide novel nonhormonal therapeutic targets for HPH.

The increased use of inhaled nicotine via e-cigarettes has unknown risks to lung health. Having previously shown that cigarette smoke (CS) extract disrupts the lung microvasculature barrier function by endothelial cell activation and cytoskeletal rearrangement, we investigated the contribution of nicotine in CS or e-cigarettes (e-Cig) to lung endothelial injury. Primary lung microvascular endothelial cells were exposed to nicotine, e-Cig solution, or condensed e-Cig vapor (1-20 mM nicotine) or to nicotine-free CS extract or e-Cig solutions. Compared with nicotine-containing extract, nicotine free-CS extract (10-20%) caused significantly less endothelial permeability as measured with electric cell-substrate impedance sensing. Nicotine exposures triggered dose-dependent loss of endothelial barrier in cultured cell monolayers and rapidly increased lung inflammation and oxidative stress in mice. The endothelial barrier disruptive effects were associated with increased intracellular ceramides, p38 MAPK activation, and myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, and was critically mediated by Rho-activated kinase via inhibition of MLC-phosphatase unit MYPT1. Although nicotine at sufficient concentrations to cause endothelial barrier loss did not trigger cell necrosis, it markedly inhibited cell proliferation. Augmentation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signaling via S1P1 improved both endothelial cell proliferation and barrier function during nicotine exposures. Nicotine-independent effects of e-Cig solutions were noted, which may be attributable to acrolein, detected along with propylene glycol, glycerol, and nicotine by NMR, mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography, in both e-Cig solutions and vapor. These results suggest that soluble components of e-Cig, including nicotine, cause dose-dependent loss of lung endothelial barrier function, which is associated with oxidative stress and brisk inflammation.

The epithelial and endothelial cells lining the alveolus form a barrier essential for the preservation of the lung respiratory function, which is, however, vulnerable to excessive oxidative, inflammatory, and apoptotic insults. Whereas profound breaches in this barrier function cause pulmonary edema, more subtle changes may contribute to inflammation. The mechanisms by which cigarette smoke (CS) exposure induce lung inflammation are not fully understood, but an early alteration in the epithelial barrier function has been documented. We sought to investigate the occurrence and mechanisms by which soluble components of mainstream CS disrupt the lung endothelial cell barrier function. Using cultured primary rat microvascular cell monolayers, we report that CS induces endothelial cell barrier disruption in a dose- and time-dependent manner of similar magnitude to that of the epithelial cell barrier. CS exposure triggered a mechanism of neutral sphingomyelinase-mediated ceramide upregulation and p38 MAPK and JNK activation that were oxidative stress dependent and that, along with Rho kinase activation, mediated the endothelial barrier dysfunction. The morphological changes in endothelial cell monolayers induced by CS included actin cytoskeletal rearrangement, junctional protein zonula occludens-1 loss, and intercellular gap formation, which were abolished by the glutathione modulator N-acetylcysteine and ameliorated by neutral sphingomyelinase inhibition. The direct application of ceramide recapitulated the effects of CS, by disrupting both endothelial and epithelial cells barrier, by a mechanism that was redox and apoptosis independent and required Rho kinase activation. Furthermore, ceramide induced dose-dependent alterations of alveolar microcirculatory barrier in vivo, measured by two-photon excitation microscopy in the intact rat. In conclusion, soluble components of CS have direct endothelial barrier-disruptive effects that could be ameliorated by glutathione modulators or by inhibitors of neutral sphingomyelinase, p38 MAPK, JNK, and Rho kinase. Amelioration of endothelial permeability may alleviate lung and systemic vascular dysfunction associated with smoking-related chronic obstructive lung diseases.

Circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are emerging as biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in individuals exposed to cigarette smoke (CS), but their mechanism of release and function remain unknown. We assessed biochemical and functional characteristics of EMPs and circulating microparticles (cMPs) released by CS. CS exposure was sufficient to increase microparticle levels in plasma of humans and mice, and in supernatants of primary human lung microvascular endothelial cells. CS-released EMPs contained predominantly exosomes that were significantly enriched in let-7d, miR-191; miR-126; and miR125a, microRNAs that reciprocally decreased intracellular in CS-exposed endothelium. CS-released EMPs and cMPs were ceramide-rich and required the ceramide-synthesis enzyme acid sphingomyelinase (aSMase) for their release, an enzyme which was found to exhibit significantly higher activity in plasma of COPD patients or of CS-exposed mice. The ex vivo or in vivo engulfment of EMPs or cMPs by peripheral blood monocytes-derived macrophages was associated with significant inhibition of efferocytosis. Our results indicate that CS, via aSMase, releases circulating EMPs with distinct microRNA cargo and that EMPs affect the clearance of apoptotic cells by specialized macrophages. These targetable effects may be important in the pathogenesis of diseases linked to endothelial injury and inflammation in smokers.

The dispersion of Nafion ionomer particles and Pt/C catalyst aggregates in liquid media was studied using both ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) and cryogenic TEM. A systematic approach was taken to study first the dispersion of each component (i.e., ionomer particles and Pt/C aggregates), then the combination of the components, and last the catalyst ink. Multiple-level curve fitting was used to extract the particle size, size distribution, and geometry of the Pt/C aggregates and the Nafion particles in liquid media from the scattering data. The results suggest that the particle size, size distribution, and geometry are not uniform throughout the systems but rather vary significantly. It was found that the interaction of each component (i.e., the Nafion ionomer particles and the Pt/C aggregates) occurs in the dispersion. Cryogenic TEM was used to observe the size and geometry of the particles in liquid directly and to validate the scattering results. The TEM results showed excellent agreement.

Intersectin-1s (ITSN-1s) is a general endocytic protein involved in regulating lung vascular permeability and endothelial cells (ECs) survival, via MEK/Erk1/2MAPK signaling. To investigate the in vivo effects of ITSN-1s deficiency and the resulting ECs apoptosis on pulmonary vasculature and lung homeostasis, we used an ITSN-1s knocked-down (KDITSN) mouse generated by repeated delivery of a specific siRNA targeting ITSN-1 gene (siRNAITSN). Biochemical and histological analyses as well as electron microscopy (EM) revealed that acute KDITSN [3-days (3d) post-siRNAITSN treatment] inhibited Erk1/2MAPK pro-survival signaling, causing significant ECs apoptosis and lung injury; at 10d of KDITSN, caspase-3 activation was at peak, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive ECs showed 3.4-fold increase, the mean linear intercept (MLI) showed 48 % augment and pulmonary microvessel density as revealed by aquaporin-1 staining (AQP-1) decreased by 30 %, all compared to controls; pulmonary function was altered. Concomitantly, expression of several growth factors known to activate Erk1/2MAPK and suppress Bad pro-apoptotic activity increased. KDITSN altered Smads activity, downstream of the transforming growth factor beta-receptor-1 (TβR1), as shown by subcellular fractionation and immunoblot analyses. Moreover, 24d post-siRNAITSN, surviving ECs became hyper-proliferative and apoptotic-resistant against ITSN-1s deficiency, as demonstrated by EM imaging, 5-bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and Bad-Ser112/155 phosphorylation, respectively, leading to increased microvessel density and repair of the injured lungs, as well as matrix deposition. In sum, ECs endocytic dysfunction and apoptotic death caused by KDITSN contribute to the initial lung injury and microvascular loss, followed by endothelial phenotypic changes and microvascular remodeling in the remaining murine pulmonary microvascular bed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10495-012-0762-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Increases in ceramide levels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of both acute or chronic lung injury models. However, the role of individual ceramide species, or of the enzymes that are responsible for their synthesis, in lung health and disease has not been clarified. We now show that C24- and C16-ceramides are the most abundant lung ceramide species, paralleled by high expression of their synthetic enzymes, ceramide synthase 2 (CerS2) and CerS5, respectively. Furthermore, the ceramide species synthesis in the lung is homeostatically regulated, since mice lacking very long acyl chain C24-ceramides due to genetic deficiency of CerS2 displayed a ten-fold increase in C16-ceramides and C16-dihydroceramides along with elevation of acid sphingomyelinase and CerS5 activities. Despite relatively preserved total lung ceramide levels, inhibition of de novo sphingolipid synthesis at the level of CerS2 was associated with significant airflow obstruction, airway inflammation, and increased lung volumes. Our results suggest that ceramide species homeostasis is crucial for lung health and that CerS2 dysfunction may predispose to inflammatory airway and airspace diseases.