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Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection results in pneumonitis in bone-marrow and lung-transplant recipients. The source of CMV infection contributing to the onset of pneumonitis is unclear, but may involve infection of the lung endothelium in the presence of infiltrating mononuclear cells. Viral infection stimulates the host cell to express chemokines as signals to recruit specific immune cells to the site of injury. CMV encodes a chemokine receptor that may function to reduce host cell expression of chemokines. In the study reported here we found that extracellular concentrations of the chemokine regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) are depleted during productive infection of primary endothelial cells with CMV strain 4010, an endothelial-adapted strain of CMV. Utilizing adenovirus-transformed human kidney epithelial cells (type 293 cells) that stably express the CMV-encoded chemokine receptor US28, we found that depletion of extracellular RANTES during infection is attributable to US28, which binds and internalizes extracellular RANTES.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 1999 Aug
PMID:Depletion of extracellular RANTES during human cytomegalovirus infection of endothelial cells. 1042 97

Infection with adenovirus (Ad) causes acute pneumonia in a type-specific fashion because type 7 but not type 5 Ad has been isolated as a causative agent. We postulated that the type specificity of induction of pneumonia may be related to type-specific cytokine induction in lung cells. To test this hypothesis, we infected human fetal lung fibroblasts and the lung epithelial cell line A549 with live type 5 and type 7 Ad. Virus inactivated by irradiation was used as a control. Type 7 but not type 5 Ad induced interleukin (IL)-8 protein production in both cell types in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Inactivated virus had no effect on the production of IL-8 protein. Type 7 but not type 5 virus also stimulated IL-8-specific messenger RNA (mRNA) production in these cells. Because half-life of IL-8 mRNA was prolonged in both type 5- and type 7-infected A549 cells, induction likely involves enhancement of message stability as well as other effects. Virus early gene expression did not consistently correlate with IL-8 message induction and followed induction in fibroblasts. These results suggest that there is type-specific induction of IL-8 production during infection of lung cells with Ad. Induction involves message stabilization and may not require viral gene expression. Because IL-8 is one of the important mediators of lung inflammation, type-specific induction of this and other cytokines may account for the different consequences of lung infection with different types of Ad.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 1999 Oct
PMID:Type-specific induction of interleukin-8 by adenovirus. 1050 62

We hypothesized that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha signaling is essential to inflammation and host defense during Escherichia coli pneumonia. We tested this hypothesis by instilling E. coli into the lungs of wild-type (WT) mice and gene-targeted mice that lack both p55 and p75 receptors for TNF-alpha. The emigration of neutrophils 6 h after instillation of E. coli was not decreased, but rather was significantly increased (167% of WT), in TNF receptor (TNFR)-deficient mice. This increased neutrophil emigration did not result from peripheral blood neutrophilia or enhanced neutrophil sequestration, inasmuch as the numbers of neutrophils in the circulating blood and in the pulmonary capillaries did not differ between TNFR-deficient and WT mice. The accumulation of pulmonary edema fluid was not inhibited in TNFR-deficient compared with WT mice. Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) translocation in the lungs was not prevented in TNFR-deficient mice. Thus, signaling pathways independent of TNFRs can mediate the acute inflammatory response during E. coli pneumonia. However, despite this inflammatory response, bacterial clearance was impaired in TNFR-deficient mice (109 +/- 8% versus 51 +/- 14% of the original inoculum viable after 6 h in TNFR-deficient and WT mice, respectively). Increased neutrophil emigration during E. coli pneumonia in TNFR-deficient mice may thus result from an increased bacterial burden in the lungs. During acute E. coli pneumonia, the absence of TNFR signaling compromised bacterial killing, but did not prevent inflammation, as measured by the accumulation of edema fluid and neutrophils.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2000 Jan
PMID:Roles of tumor necrosis factor receptor signaling during murine Escherichia coli pneumonia. 1061 69

Although the identity of the T cells that protect against bacteria in humans remains unknown, it is clear that patients with bacterial infection have reduced numbers of T cells in their blood. Here we have determined whether this T cell loss is a consequence of bacterial antigen-mediated activation-induced cell death (AICD). By flowcytometric analysis, less than 0.3% of freshly isolated T cells from healthy volunteers and patients with severe pneumonia were identified as apoptotic. However, during culture the rate of apoptosis in peripheral blood T cells from patients was 3.0 +/- 0.9%; and increased further in the presence of anti-CD3 (7.4 +/- 2.1%) and decreased when IL-2 was added (4.4 +/- 1.3%). In contrast, no changes were observed in healthy volunteers on addition of anti-CD3. Further, anti-CD3 significantly increased the susceptibility to apoptosis of CD45RO+ T cells, but not CD45RA+ T cells from patients, and the percentage of CD45RO+ T cells in patients was significantly higher than that in healthy volunteers. Flowcytometric analysis revealed the expression level of Fas to be higher in the patients than healthy volunteers. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that bacteria-reactive T cells were more susceptible to AICD and that Fas-FasL pathways of apoptosis were involved. AICD of CD45RO+ T cells, therefore, provides an explanation for the loss of bacteria-reactive T cells during bacterial infection.
Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol 1999
PMID:Involvement of apoptosis in activation-induced cell death of bacteria-reactive human CD45RO+ T cells. 1063 13

Eosinophils have been implicated in a broad range of diseases, notably allergic conditions (for example, asthma, rhinitis and atopic dermatitis) and other inflammatory disorders (for example, inflammatory bowel disease, eosinophilic gastroenteritis and pneumonia). These disease states are characterized by an accumulation of eosinophils in tissues. Severe tissue damage ensues as eosinophils release their highly cytotoxic granular proteins. Defining the mechanisms that control recruitment of eosinophils to tissues is fundamental to understanding these disease processes and provides targets for novel drug therapy. An important discovery in this context was the identification of an eosinophil-specific chemoattractant, eotaxin. Over the past six years there has been intensive investigation into the biological effects of eotaxin and its role in specific disease processes and this is the subject of this review.
Mol Med Today 2000 Jan
PMID:Eotaxin and eosinophil recruitment: implications for human disease. 1063 71

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor (TNFR)-associated factors 1 and 2 (TRAF1 and TRAF2) and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins cIAP1 (MIHB) and cIAP2 (MIHC) were recently identified as proteins that associate with the TNF-alpha receptors TNFRI (p55) and TNFRII (p75) and inhibit TNF-alpha-induced programmed cell death or apoptosis. In the original reports, TRAF1 expression, unlike the ubiquitous TRAF2, was restricted to specific tissues in the lung, spleen, and testis. TNF-alpha is increased in the lung in many forms of pulmonary disease. In the current study, Western analysis, immunohistochemistry, and ribonuclease protection assays were used to determine whether TNF-alpha regulates the expression of these TNFR-associated proteins in lung cells. We demonstrate for the first time TNF-alpha dose-dependent induction of TRAF1 protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) in human H441 and A549 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cell lines, as well as in lung cells of C57BL/6J mice after intratracheal administration of TNF-alpha. In contrast to the epithelial cells, TRAF1 was not induced by TNF-alpha in U937 cells, a human monocytic cell line, suggesting cell type-specific regulation. Similarly, cIAP2 mRNA was induced by TNF-alpha in both H441 and A549 pulmonary epithelial cells but not in U937 cells. TNF-alpha is a primary mediator of acute pulmonary inflammation and contributes to the pathophysiology of chronic lung diseases such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a fibrotic disease of prematurely born infants. Immunohistochemical staining of human neonatal lung tissue demonstrated increased TRAF1 in lungs of infants dying of pneumonia or BPD in comparison with those dying of congenital malformation. These studies support the hypothesis that the TRAF1 and cIAP2 genes are highly regulated in pulmonary cells and may play a role in human lung disease.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2000 Feb
PMID:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced lung cell expression of antiapoptotic genes TRAF1 and cIAP2. 1065 35

Thymidylate synthase from Pneumocystis carinii (PcTS) is an especially important drug target, since P. carinii is a fungus that causes opportunistic pneumonia infections in immune-compromised patients and is among the leading causes of death of AIDS patients. Thymidylate synthase (TS) is the sole enzyme responsible for the de novo production of deoxythymidine monophosphate and hence is crucial for DNA replication in every organism. Inhibitors selective for P. carinii TS over human TS would be greatly beneficial in combating this disease. The crystal structure of TS from P. carinii bound to its substrate, dUMP, and a cofactor mimic, CB3717, was determined to 2.6 A resolution. A comparison with other species of TS shows that the volume of the closed PcTS active-site is 20 % larger than that of five other TS closed active-sites. A two-residue proline insert that is strictly conserved among all fungal species of TS, and a novel C-terminal closing interaction involving a P. carinii-specific tyrosine residue are primarily responsible for this increase in volume. The structure suggests several options for designing an inhibitor specific to PcTS and avoiding interactions with human TS. Taking advantage of the residue substitutions of P. carinii TS over human TS enables the design of a selective inhibitor. Additionally, the larger volume of the active-site of PcTS is an important advantage for designing de novo inhibitors that will exclude the human TS active-site through steric hindrance.
J Mol Biol 2000 Mar 31
PMID:The crystal structure of thymidylate synthase from Pneumocystis carinii reveals a fungal insert important for drug design. 1073 18

We investigated keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) as a pretreatment therapy for idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS) generated as a result of lung damage and allogeneic T cell-dependent inflammatory events occurring in the early peri-bone marrow (BM) transplant (BMT) period. B10.BR (H2(k)) recipient mice were transplanted with C57BL/6 (H2(b)) BM with spleen cells after lethal irradiation with and without cyclophosphamide conditioning with and without subcutaneous KGF pretreatment. KGF-pretreated mice had fewer injured alveolar type II (ATII) cells at the time of BMT and exhibited ATII cell hyperplasia at day 3 post-BMT. The composition of infiltrating cells on day 7 post-BMT was not altered by KGF pretreatment, but the frequencies of cells expressing the T-cell costimulatory molecules B7.1 and B7.2 and mRNA for the cytolysin granzyme B (usually increased in IPS) were decreased by KGF. Sera from KGF-treated mice had increases in the Th2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, and IL-13 4 days after cessation of KGF administration (i.e., at the time of BMT). These data suggest that KGF hinders IPS by two modes: 1) stimulation of alveolar epithelialization and 2) attenuation of immune-mediated injury as a consequence of failure to upregulate cytolytic molecules and B7 ligand expression and the induction of anti-inflammatory Th2 cytokines in situ.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2000 May
PMID:KGF pretreatment decreases B7 and granzyme B expression and hastens repair in lungs of mice after allogeneic BMT. 1078 30

Pneumocystis carinii causes severe pneumonia in immunocompromised patients. Recent studies indicate that P. carinii uses a Cdc2 cyclin-dependent kinase to control its proliferation. To further study the regulation of the life cycle of P. carinii, we characterized the P. carinii B-type cyclin termed Cdc13, whose binding to Cdc2 is necessary for kinase activity. Antibodies to B-type cyclins (Cdc13) specifically immunoprecipitated Cdc2/ Cdc13 complexes with associated kinase activity from P. carinii extracts. To clone P. carinii cdc13, degenerate polymerase chain reaction was undertaken using primers generated from amino-acid motifs conserved in fungal Cdc13 proteins. This amplicon was used to obtain full-length genomic and complementary DNA (cDNA) clones. A specific synthetic peptide antibody generated to P. carinii Cdc13 further demonstrated differential Cdc2/Cdc13 activity over the life cycle of P. carinii, with greater activity in cysts compared with trophic forms of the organism. Finally, P. carinii cdc13 cDNA was used to rescue mutant Schizosaccharomyces pombe strains containing temperature-sensitive deficiencies of endogenous Cdc13 activity, thus verifying function of the P. carinii Cdc13 protein. Therefore, P. carinii contains a Cdc13 cyclin, which is variably active over its life cycle and which promotes fungal proliferation.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2000 Jun
PMID:Pneumocystis carinii uses a functional cdc13 B-type cyclin complex during its life cycle. 1083 70

The alveolar macrophage (AM) oxidative burst response is an important component of microbicidal effector cell function against a variety of potential pathogens in the lungs, although the role against Pneumocystis carinii has not been fully investigated. The goals of this study were to characterize the P. carinii-mediated oxidative burst of AMs from healthy individuals, and to examine the oxidative burst of AMs from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons. For healthy individuals, the AM oxidative burst (measured as hydrogen peroxide [H(2)O(2)] production) increased in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in response to P. carinii or to the major surface glycoprotein of P. carinii, gp-A (0.01 to 10 microg/ml), required physical contact of P. carinii with AMs, and was not dependent on organism viability. Enzymatic removal of the surface-associated molecules of P. carinii reduced the oxidative burst to 43% of control (P = 0.01). Blocking the AM mannose receptor reduced the P. carinii-mediated oxidative burst response to 37% of control (P = 0.01). Compared with AMs from healthy individuals, P. carinii-mediated H(2)O(2) production was significantly reduced in AMs from asymptomatic HIV-positive (HIV+) persons with CD4+ counts < 200 cells/mm(3) (249+/-43 relative fluorescence units [RFU] versus 130+/-44 RFU; mean +/- standard error of the mean, P = 0.038) and HIV+ persons with active P. carinii pneumonia (78+/-40 RFU; P = 0.014), but preserved for HIV+ persons with CD4+ counts > 200 cells/mm(3). Importantly, H2O2 production in response to phorbol myristate acetate or serum-opsonized zymosan particles was preserved in all groups studied. Thus, AM oxidative burst, mediated in part via P. carinii gp-A and AM mannose receptor may represent an important host response to P. carinii. A specific impairment of P. carinii-mediated AM oxidative burst in persons with advanced HIV infection may contribute to the pathogenesis of P. carinii pneumonia.
Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2000 Oct
PMID:Alveolar macrophages from human immunodeficiency virus-infected persons demonstrate impaired oxidative burst response to Pneumocystis carinii in vitro. 1101 9


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