Acute lung injury is marked by profound neutrophil influx along with fluid accumulation that impairs lung function at the cost of high mortality (up to 40%). Neutrophils are activated and their constitutive apoptosis is inhibited during this phase in order to be competent phagocytes over the next few hours. Activated neutrophils release copious amounts of toxic mediators that cause tissue damage leading to impaired barrier function and finally, impaired lung function. Therefore, one of the critical needs is to identify molecules that regulate neutrophil migration and silence activated neutrophils to prevent exuberant tissue damage. Angiostatin is an anti-angiogenic molecule highly expressed in lavage fluid of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Angiostatin has recently been shown to inhibit neutrophil infiltration in mice peritonitis. However, the role of angiostatin in modulating neutrophil physiology and lung inflammation remains unknown. I studied the role of angiostatin, an anti-angiogenic molecule, in neutrophil activation and recruitment <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i>. Angiostatin was endocytosed only by activated neutrophils, inhibited neutrophil polarity in fMLP-activated neutrophils probably through integrin &alpha;_V&beta;₃, and inhibited MAPK signalling in LPS-activated neutrophils. Angiostatin suppressed formation of reactive oxygen species and activated caspase-3 in neutrophils in both pre-and post-LPS treatments. Finally, angiostatin reduced adhesion and emigration of neutrophils in post-capillary venules of TNF&alpha;-treated cremaster muscle. The next study was designed to investigate the role of angiostatin in acute lung injury. I used <i>E. coli</i> lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury mouse model to test the effects of angiostatin through analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage and lung tissues. In addition, I made novel use of synchrotron diffraction enhanced imaging of mouse lungs to assess lung area and contrast ratios over 9 hours as surrogates for lung inflammation. Subcutaneous treatment with angiostatin reduced neutrophil influx, protein accumulation, lung Gr1+ neutrophils and myeloperoxidase activity, phosphorylated p38 MAPK without affecting the levels of MIP-1&alpha;, IL-1&beta;, KC and MCP-1 in lavage and lung homogenates. Diffraction enhanced imaging showed that angiostatin causes a time-dependent improvement in lung area and lung contrast ratios that reflect improvement in lung edema. Overall, the study shows that angiostatin is a novel inhibitor of acute lung injury in mice. Moreover, DEI offers a highly useful technique in evaluating dynamics of lung inflammation and to investigate the therapeutic impact of new drugs on lung inflammation. I conclude that angiostatin is a novel inhibitor of neutrophil migration, activation and acute lung injury.

Introduction: Currently, there are no specific pharmacological treatments for sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). And mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown reparative potential in both sepsis and ARDS. Objectives: To determine the role of MSC administration in the modulation of pulmonary host-responses to sepsis via differential regulation of regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs). Methods: MicroRNA and mRNA profiling was performed to identify differential expression. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements, and luciferase activity assay were used. Results: MicroRNA expression was examined in Human Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HPMECs). One miRNA – miR-193b-5p, targets occludin, a tight junction protein associated with endothelial leakage. A specific regulatory relationship between miR-193b-5p and occludin was identified. The loss in endothelial integrity was rescued when miR-193b-5p inhibitor was transfected. Conclusion: miR-193b-5p is a suppressor of occludin. Studying transcriptional changes allows identification of therapeutically relevant mediators for ARDS/ALI treatment.

Introduction: Currently, there are no specific pharmacological treatments for sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). And mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown reparative potential in both sepsis and ARDS. Objectives: To determine the role of MSC administration in the modulation of pulmonary host-responses to sepsis via differential regulation of regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs). Methods: MicroRNA and mRNA profiling was performed to identify differential expression. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements, and luciferase activity assay were used. Results: MicroRNA expression was examined in Human Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HPMECs). One miRNA – miR-193b-5p, targets occludin, a tight junction protein associated with endothelial leakage. A specific regulatory relationship between miR-193b-5p and occludin was identified. The loss in endothelial integrity was rescued when miR-193b-5p inhibitor was transfected. Conclusion: miR-193b-5p is a suppressor of occludin. Studying transcriptional changes allows identification of therapeutically relevant mediators for ARDS/ALI treatment.

<p>At the present time, here is no approved medical countermeasure (MCM) for mitigating or treating pneumonitis/fibrosis following acute radiation exposure. Since it is neither ethical nor feasible to evaluate potential MCMs against radiation injury in the clinical setting, the FDA permits MCM licensure under an alternative drug development pathway ("Animal Efficacy Rule") that relies on the predictive validity of animal models. The purpose of the current project was to design a research platform that addresses many of the critical knowledge gaps associated with successful adherence to the FDA Animal Rule. </p><p>In these studies, we evaluated the dose-response relationship for survival and function injury among CBA/J, C57L/J, and C57BL/6J mouse strains. These strains were previously identified to represent the full spectrum of pulmonary pathology associated with acute radiation exposure to the thorax. We next evaluated ultrastructural pathology to identify differences in tissue response among strains as early as twenty-four hours after radiation. Global differential gene expression analysis was utilized to identify the major signaling pathways and genes associated with development of radiation pneumonitis and/or fibrosis by exploiting the phenotypic differences in radiation-injury among strains. Genes with significant differences were validated by quantitative real-time PCR and their protein products validated by western blot. Finally, we performed longitudinal analysis of hypoxia-associated gene expression to elucidate the natural history of disease progression in "fibrosis prone" C57BL/6J mice. </p><p>In these studies, we identified significant differences in the dose-response, temporal onset, disease progression, and pathologic manifestations of radiation lung injury among murine strains. The severity of ultrastructural damage at twenty-four hours also differed among strains indicating the early tissue response to the radiation insult was dissimilar. A significant difference was found in gene expression among strains. The most interesting differences were associated with the acute-phase response, iron homeostasis, cell cycle/proliferation, and cell death. Lastly, hypoxia-associated gene expression, including HIF-1alpha; and HIF-2alpha; mRNA and protein stabilization, was dynamically altered during the temporal course of radiation pathogenesis in the "fibrosis-prone" C57BL/6J mice. As the C57BL/6J strain is more "resistant" to radiation-induced lung injury, a better understanding of the pathways involved in tissue response to radiation in this strain might elucidate the mechanisms that make the lungs of this strain significantly more radiotolerant than their counterparts. </p><p>The research platform developed in this project provides essential information to interpret and define the complex interrelationships in clinically relevant models of the human response to potentially lethal irradiation and treatment. The overall goal is to provide a rigorous scientific platform for MCM development under the Animal Efficacy Rule with reasonable expectation that MCMs acquired for the Strategic National Stockpile will effectively prevent, treat, or mitigate radiation-induced lung injury and improve survival among the exposed population.</p> / Dissertation

Severe manifestations of malaria, including cerebral malaria (CM) and respiratory distress, result in approximately three million deaths annually worldwide. Currently, relatively little is known about severe disease pathogenesis. The development and outcome of severe malaria is determined by host-pathogen interactions, a complex interface of genetics and immune responses. Hypothetically, a spectrum of genetic susceptibility and resistance to severe disease exists within the host population, and malaria infection results in diverse host and parasite responses that impact disease outcome. The aim of this study was to identify differential host and parasite responses in a murine model of severe malaria, Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA), in CM-susceptible and CM-resistant mice; and to analyze host genetics in patients with severe disease due to Plasmodium falciparum. In vivo, expression microarray analysis showed that, in malaria target organs, differential responses were related to immune response – primarily interferon and complement pathways – and apoptosis. Histopathological examination of the brain confirmed an increased prevalence of apoptosis in CM-susceptible mice. Further examination of the role of complement in CM-susceptibility determined that early complement 5 (C5) activation conferred susceptibility to CM, and that C5 deficiency conferred resistance, which could be recapitulated by antibody blockade of activated C5 or its receptor in susceptible mice. Additionally, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies identified that complement receptor 1 SNPs were associated with disease severity in patients with P. falciparum malaria. PbA parasites displayed a unique transcriptional signature in each tissue examined (brain, liver, spleen and lung), showed differential gene expression between CM-resistant and susceptible hosts, and were most prominent in lung tissue. Closer examination of lung involvement in PbA infection revealed that PbA-infected C57BL/6 mice develop acute lung injury (ALI), defined by disruption of the alveolar-capillary membrane barrier. ALI susceptibility did not correlate with CM susceptibility, but was influenced by peripheral parasite burden and CD36-mediated parasite sequestration in the lung. PbA provides a clinically relevant experimental model for CM and ALI, through which important disease mechanisms can be identified and modulated. Ideally, the use of such models aids in the discovery of disease biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies, which may be applied to human severe and cerebral malaria.

XB130 is a relatively unstudied novel signal adaptor protein. In the first phase of this study, an in silico search for proteins related to XB130 was conducted. Two other proteins (AFAP and AFAP1L1) were found to have a significant similarity to XB130 and were compared in detail. After an analysis of these three proteins, it was proposed that they are members of a novel protein family, termed the “AFAP family of signal adaptor proteins”. XB130 has previously been found to regulate cell cycle progression, death, and migration in lung epithelial cells. It was therefore hypothesized that XB130 is protective in acute lung injury (ALI) and important for facilitating repair after injury. XB130 was found to be differentially regulated in ALI depending on the initial insult. Engineering XB130 transgenic mice to further characterize the role of XB130 in lung injury/regeneration revealed that this protein could be essential for early embryo development.

Severe manifestations of malaria, including cerebral malaria (CM) and respiratory distress, result in approximately three million deaths annually worldwide. Currently, relatively little is known about severe disease pathogenesis. The development and outcome of severe malaria is determined by host-pathogen interactions, a complex interface of genetics and immune responses. Hypothetically, a spectrum of genetic susceptibility and resistance to severe disease exists within the host population, and malaria infection results in diverse host and parasite responses that impact disease outcome. The aim of this study was to identify differential host and parasite responses in a murine model of severe malaria, Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA), in CM-susceptible and CM-resistant mice; and to analyze host genetics in patients with severe disease due to Plasmodium falciparum. In vivo, expression microarray analysis showed that, in malaria target organs, differential responses were related to immune response – primarily interferon and complement pathways – and apoptosis. Histopathological examination of the brain confirmed an increased prevalence of apoptosis in CM-susceptible mice. Further examination of the role of complement in CM-susceptibility determined that early complement 5 (C5) activation conferred susceptibility to CM, and that C5 deficiency conferred resistance, which could be recapitulated by antibody blockade of activated C5 or its receptor in susceptible mice. Additionally, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies identified that complement receptor 1 SNPs were associated with disease severity in patients with P. falciparum malaria. PbA parasites displayed a unique transcriptional signature in each tissue examined (brain, liver, spleen and lung), showed differential gene expression between CM-resistant and susceptible hosts, and were most prominent in lung tissue. Closer examination of lung involvement in PbA infection revealed that PbA-infected C57BL/6 mice develop acute lung injury (ALI), defined by disruption of the alveolar-capillary membrane barrier. ALI susceptibility did not correlate with CM susceptibility, but was influenced by peripheral parasite burden and CD36-mediated parasite sequestration in the lung. PbA provides a clinically relevant experimental model for CM and ALI, through which important disease mechanisms can be identified and modulated. Ideally, the use of such models aids in the discovery of disease biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies, which may be applied to human severe and cerebral malaria.

XB130 is a relatively unstudied novel signal adaptor protein. In the first phase of this study, an in silico search for proteins related to XB130 was conducted. Two other proteins (AFAP and AFAP1L1) were found to have a significant similarity to XB130 and were compared in detail. After an analysis of these three proteins, it was proposed that they are members of a novel protein family, termed the “AFAP family of signal adaptor proteins”. XB130 has previously been found to regulate cell cycle progression, death, and migration in lung epithelial cells. It was therefore hypothesized that XB130 is protective in acute lung injury (ALI) and important for facilitating repair after injury. XB130 was found to be differentially regulated in ALI depending on the initial insult. Engineering XB130 transgenic mice to further characterize the role of XB130 in lung injury/regeneration revealed that this protein could be essential for early embryo development.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2008. / In title: [A] is subscript upper case A; [B] is subscript upper case B. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations.