Neutrophil alpha-defensins cause lung injury by disrupting the capillary-epithelial barrier.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

The involvement of neutrophil activation in the sentinel, potentially reversible, events in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI) is only partially understood. alpha-Defensins are the most abundant proteins secreted by activated human neutrophils, but their contribution to ALI in mouse models is hindered by their absence from murine neutrophils and the inability to study their effects in isolation in other species.

Objectives

To study the role of alpha-defensins in the pathogenesis of ALI in a clinically relevant setting using mice transgenic for polymorphonuclear leukocyte expression of alpha-defensins.

Methods

Transgenic mice expressing polymorphonuclear leukocyte alpha-defensins were generated. ALI was induced by acid aspiration. Pulmonary vascular

SUBMITTER: Bdeir K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2862305 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature