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,*


* Department of Pharmacology, Aventis Pharma, Dagenham, Essex, United Kingdom; and
Department of Pharmacology, Aventis Pharma, Bridgewater, NJ 08807
| Abstract |
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, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1
(CINC-1), macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), ICAM-1, IL-10, and
inducible NO synthase. Protein levels in lung and BAL were also
determined by ELISA. Ebselen pretreatment inhibited neutrophil influx
and activation as assessed by BAL fluid cellularity and myeloperoxidase
activity in cell-free BAL and BAL cell homogenates. This protective
effect was accompanied by a significant reduction in lung and BAL fluid
TNF-
and IL-1
protein and/or mRNA levels. Ebselen pretreatment
also prevented lung ICAM-1 mRNA up-regulation in response to airway
challenge with LPS. This was not a global effect of ebselen on
LPS-induced gene expression, because the rise in lung and BAL CINC-1
and MIP-2 protein levels were unaffected as were lung mRNA expressions
for CINC-1, MIP-2, IL-10, and inducible NO synthase. These data suggest
that the anti-inflammatory properties of ebselen are achieved
through an inhibition of lung ICAM-1 expression possibly through an
inhibition of TNF-
and IL-1
, which are potent neutrophil
recruiting mediators and effective inducers of ICAM-1
expression. | Introduction |
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It has also been reported that ebselen inhibited human
polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)2 adhesion to,
and migration through, cytokine-activated human umbilical vein
endothelium in vitro (10). In an in vivo experimental
setting in rat immunized with adjuvant (Mycobacterium
butyricum), it was further shown that ebselen treatment (100
mg/kg/day for 3 days) after the development of arthritis inhibited by
7279% the PMN migration into arthritic joints (11).
Ebselen also inhibited by 5060% the PMN migration into dermal
inflammatory reactions induced with zymosan-activated rat serum
(C5adesArg), LPS, or IL-1
. The effect of ebselen was apparent within
3 h of initial administration (11). Because the
effects of ebselen include a large variety of different molecular
actions, it is therefore difficult to decide which properties of the
plethora of mechanisms account for the anti-inflammatory effect of
ebselen in vivo.
The mechanism of pulmonary PMN migration in rats given intratracheal
LPS has been partially characterized and involves production by airway
cells of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-
and IL-1
as well as
neutrophil-specific chemoattractants known as CXC chemokines, which in
rats include the family of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractants
(CINCs) and macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) also known as
CINC-3 (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). CD18 integrins have also been shown to
play a role for full polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) migration.
Expression of CD18 adhesion molecules on the PMN surface can be induced
by exposure to LPS or TNF-
and to chemokines such as CINC-1 and
MIP-2 (20, 21, 22, 23). In rats, treatment with Abs to CD11a/CD18
or CD11b/CD18, as well as to their ICAM-1 endothelial cell ligand,
attenuated the migration of PMNs to intrapulmonary LPS (24, 25).
The aim of the present study was to investigate the
anti-inflammatory effect of ebselen in an inhalational LPS model of
airway inflammation and to dissect out the underlying mechanisms.
Particularly, we evaluated the effect of ebselen on LPS-induced
neutrophil recruitment and activation, lung and bronchoalveolar lavage
(BAL) fluid CXC chemokine, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine
expression, and ICAM-1 expression in Wistar rats and compared this with
the effect of the synthetic steroid dexamethasone. We provide evidence
that ebselen inhibits neutrophil recruitment and activation through an
inhibitory effect on airway TNF-
, IL-1
, and ICAM-1 expression.
These effects were not a global effect of ebselen on LPS-induced gene
expression, because the rise in lung and BAL fluid levels for several
candidate mediators including CINC-1, MIP-2, inducible NO synthase
(iNOS), and IL-10 did not differ between untreated and ebselen-treated
animals at the protein or the mRNA level.
| Materials and Methods |
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Male Wistar rats (150180 g) were purchased from Harlan-Olac (Bicester, U.K.) and allowed to acclimatize for at least 5 days before use. Food and water were supplied ad libitum. U.K. Home Office guidelines for animal welfare based on the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were strictly observed. In preliminary experiments, concentration- and time-dependent relationships for cell influx and cytokine release into the airway lumen were determined in response to aerosolized LPS. In subsequent experiments rats were challenged with either saline or LPS (0.3 mg/ml for 30 min) aerosol using an Ultra-Neb 99 (Sunrise Medical, Wollaston, U.K.). Rats were dosed (1 ml/kg) with ebselen (1100 mg/kg i.p.), dexamethasone (1 mg/kg p.o.), ebselen vehicle (25% DMSO, 75% polyethylene glycol i.p.), or dexamethasone vehicle (0.5% methylcellulose/0.2% Tween 80 p.o.) 2 h before and 1 h after exposure to aerosolized saline or LPS (0.3 mg/ml (w/v), for 30 min). Animals were sacrificed (sodium pentobarbitone, 200 mg/kg i.p.) 4 h after the end of challenge. Each treatment group consisted of eight animals.
For the therapeutic dosing regimen, Wistar rats (Charles River, Kingston, NY) were dosed with either vehicle or ebselen (30 mg/kg, 1 ml/kg i.p.) at 0.5, 1, and 2 h before LPS challenge. One additional group of rats was received ebselen 1 h before and 2 h after LPS aerosol challenge. Animals were sacrificed 4 h after saline or LPS challenge. BAL fluid and lung tissue samples were processed as described below.
Quantification of BAL cellularity
Four hours after saline or LPS challenge, animals were euthanized with sodium pentobarbitone (200 mg/kg i.p.), and the trachea was cannulated. BAL cells were recovered from the airway lumen by flushing the airways with 10 ml/kg RPMI 1640 delivered through the tracheal cannula and removed after a 30-s interval. This procedure was repeated and samples were then pooled for each animal. The samples were then refrigerated for later use. Total whole cell counts were obtained in BAL samples by using an automated cell counter (Cobas Argos; Roche ABX Hematologie, Montpellier, France). Cytospins of these samples were prepared by centrifugation of 100-µl aliquots in a cytospin (Shandon, Runcorn, U.K.) at 700 rpm for 5 min with low acceleration at room temperature. Slides were fixed and stained on a Hema-tek 2000 (Ames, Elkhart, IN) with modified Wrights-Giemsa stain. Four-part differential counts on 200 cells/slide were performed following standard morphological criteria, and the percentage of eosinophils, macrophages/monocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophils were determined.
Lung tissue sampling and processing
After BAL was performed, the thoracic cavity was exposed, the
heart and lungs were removed en bloc. The two major lung lobes were
dissected out, and the pulmonary vasculature of the lobes was perfused
with ice-cold sterile PBS using a Microperspex peristaltic pump
to remove the blood pool of cells. The lobes were cut into 5-mm pieces
using a tissue chopper, flash frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at
-80°C for RT-PCR analysis of cytokine protein and gene expression.
For the determination of cytokine protein levels,
200 mg of lung
tissue were homogenized in PBS using an Ultraturrax T25 homogenizer (G.
Heinemann, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany). The samples
were then spun in a benchtop microcentrifuge (13,000 x
g, 20 min, 4°C). The resulting supernatants were used for
cytokine protein quantification.
Lung and BAL fluid cytokine protein expression
Cytokine levels in lung homogenates and BAL fluids were
determined by ELISA using commercially available kits according to the
manufacturers instructions. TNF-
was determined using a
rat-specific sandwich immunoassay kit obtained from R&D Systems
(Minneapolis, MN). IL-1
and MIP-2 (CINC-3) concentrations were
determined using a solid phase sandwich ELISA kit, which used
peroxidase and tetramethylbenzidine as a detection method (BioSource
International, Camarillo, CA). The detection limit of these assays was
determined to be in the range of 15 pg/ml. There was no detectable
cross-reactivity with other rat and mouse cytokines and chemokines.
Because of the high degree of similarity maintained in chemokines
across species, kits that used polyclonal Abs for the detection of
mouse chemokines could also be used to detect the rat cognate provided
that a standard curve was obtained using known concentrations of rat
chemokine. Thus, rat CINC levels were assayed using a kit to detect
mouse KC (R&D Systems). ODs were read at 450 nm on a microplate reader
(Biotek Instruments, Winooski, VT). For lung tissue, cytokine levels
were further corrected for protein content using the assay of Lowry et
al. (26).
Neutrophil myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay
BAL samples were first processed into cell-free BAL fluid and BAL cell homogenates. Cell-free BAL fluid was prepared by sedimenting the cells by centrifugation (400 x g) for 10 min at 4°C, and then the supernatant was collected and stored. The cell pellets were resuspended in 1 ml of lysis buffer (0.5% hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.0), and this fraction was designated as BAL cell homogenate. MPO content was determined in BAL fluid fractions using a spectrophotometric reaction with o-dianisidine hydrochloride as a substrate as previously described (27). Briefly, 280 µl of substrate solution (50 mM phosphate buffer containing 0.167 mg/ml of o-dianisidine hydrochloride), 10 µl of H2O2 (0.0005%), and 10 µl of sample were added to each cuvet. The addition of sample starts the reaction. OD460 was monitored after 0.5 s and then every 10 s for 1 min, and the initial rate was calculated using the kinetics module in the spectrophotometer (Cobas Bio., Roche, France). The OD change per minute was used as a measure of MPO activity. The peroxidase activity was calculated using a molar extinction coefficient (for the oxidized product of o-dianisidine hydrochloride) of 0.0113 mol/cm. Data were expressed as units per milliliter (or micromols per minute per milliliter).
Lung cytokine gene expression (RT-PCR)
RNA extraction. Total cellular RNA from rat lung recovered 4 h postchallenge was isolated by guanidium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction according to the method described by Chomczynski and Sacchi (28). The purity and integrity of the RNA samples were assessed by OD260/OD280 spectrophotometric measurements and by agarose gel (1% agarose-formaldehyde gel containing 20 mM morpholinosulfonic acid, 5 mM sodium acetate, and 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.0) electrophoresis.
Reverse transcription. A 1-µg portion of total RNA was subjected to first-strand cDNA synthesis in a 25-µl reaction mixture containing avian myeloblastosis virus reverse transcriptase (10 U), dNTP mixture (2 mM concentrations of each dNTP), oligo(dT)1218 primers (10 µM), and reaction buffer as supplied with the enzyme (50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 50 mM KCl, 10 mM MgCl2, 0.5 mM spermidine, and 10 mM DDT). The samples were incubated in a PerkinElmer 480 thermal cycler (PerkinElmer, Wellesley, MA) at 42°C for 60 min followed by enzyme denaturation step at 94°C for 2 min. The reverse transcription mixture was diluted with 25 µl of RNase-free water and stored at -80°C for use in PCR. All reagents were obtained from Promega (Southampton, U.K.).
PCR.
PCR was performed on 4 µl of reverse transcriptase product using
Ready-To-Go PCR beads (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Albans, U.K.),
containing Taq DNA polymerase, dNTP, buffer, and 0.5 µM
concentrations of each gene-specific forward and reverse primers
(obtained from Life Technologies, Paisley, U.K.) in a total volume of
25 µl. Gene-specific oligonucleotide primers, listed in Table I
, were designed from published rat
sequences. The PCR was conducted in PerkinElmer GeneAmp PCR system
9700. After an initial denaturation at 95°C for 5 min, amplification
was conducted through 2535 cycles of denaturation at 94°C for 30s,
annealing at 55°C (GAPDH) or 60°C (for all other transcripts) for
30 s and extension at 72°C for 45 s. Final extension was at
72°C for 7 min followed by a final hold at 4°C. Negative controls
(PCR mixture without cDNA) and positive controls (PCR mixture with a
standard cDNA sample) were included in preliminary PCR runs. Initial
experiments were conducted to determine the optimal annealing
temperature for each set of gene-specific primers and also the linear
phase of the product amplification curve (data not shown).
|
Materials
Ebselen and dexamethasone were synthesized at Aventis Pharma (Dagenham Research Center, Dagenham, Essex, U.K.). LPS from Escherichia coli serotype 0111:B4 and all other materials were purchased from Sigma (Poole, U.K.) except for RPMI 1640 (Life Technologies) and sodium pentobarbitone (euthatal; Rhône Mérieux, Harlow, U.K.).
Data analysis
Values are expressed as mean ± SEM of n independent observations. Statistical comparisons were made using the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunnetts post-test. All treatments were compared with vehicle-treated groups.
| Results |
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Initial LPS dose-response and kinetics studies were performed to
provide a reference point for studies described subsequently in which
the effect of ebselen on neutrophil recruitment and cytokine and
chemokine expression were investigated. Dose-response studies showed
that LPS concentrations above 0.1 mg/ml (aerosolized over 30 min)
produced significant BAL neutrophilia which was evident at 60 min,
reached a plateau at 26 h, and returned toward basal levels by 2448
h postchallenge (data not shown). The LPS dose of 0.3 mg/ml aerosolized
for 30 min was selected in subsequent studies with inflammatory indices
measured 4 h postchallenge. LPS inhalation induces a significant
increase in total cell counts recovered in BAL fluid. The cell
population contributing to this increase is mainly neutrophils (Fig. 1
).
|
It has previously been demonstrated that MPO activity is directly
related to neutrophil number and can be used as a neutrophil marker
(27, 29). Therefore, we have used the MPO assay to assess
the extent of neutrophil recruitment into the airway lumen as well as
to assess the activation state of neutrophils after LPS challenge and
the effect of ebselen and dexamethasone. LPS inhalation induces a
marked increase in MPO content in BAL cell homogenates, which was
significantly attenuated by ebselen and dexamethasone pretreatment,
consistent with the BAL neutrophil differential cell count. Ebselen
alone did not modify the MPO content in BAL cell homogenates (Fig. 2
A). We have also quantified
MPO activity in cell-free BAL as an index of neutrophil degranulation
and activation. LPS-induced MPO activity in cell-free BAL was
significantly inhibited by ebselen at 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg and
dexamethasone (Fig. 2
B).
|
Within the CXC chemokine subfamily, the presence of a
glutamate-leucine-arginine (ELR) motif before the first conserved
cysteine residue confers selectivity in recruiting neutrophils
(30), and the ELR-containing CXC chemokines, CINC, and
MIP-2 are potent inducers of neutrophil activation and their
directional migration (17, 18, 31, 32, 33). We have therefore
investigated whether the effect of ebselen on neutrophil recruitment
might be achieved through inhibition of the macrophage CXC chemokines
CINC-1 and MIP-2. Using RT-PCR, CINC-1 and MIP-2 signals were barely
detectable in lung from saline-vehicles or saline-ebselen groups. After
LPS inhalation, the mRNA expression for these transcripts was
substantially induced in the lungs (Fig. 3
). Surprisingly, ebselen pretreatment
did not alter the levels of CINC-1 and MIP-2 mRNA expression (Figs. 3
and 4
). LPS inhalation releases more
MIP-2 than CINC-1 proteins measured in either BAL fluid or lung
homogenates (Fig. 5
). The LPS-induced
increases in BAL and lung protein levels for CINC-1 and MIP-2 were also
unaffected by ebselen pretreatment, which is consistent with the gene
expression data (Fig. 5
). Unlike ebselen, dexamethasone slightly but
significantly inhibited lung protein and mRNA levels for CINC-1 and
MIP-2 and marginally inhibited BAL protein expression for these
chemokines (Fig. 5
).
|
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|
TNF-
has been implicated as a mediator of LPS-induced airway
inflammation (12, 13, 15, 19). TNF-
was shown to
initiate and amplify pulmonary inflammatory responses by stimulating
the release of chemotactic factors by up-regulating the expression of
leukocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules (16, 23). To
determine whether ebselen mediated its protective effect against
LPS-induced neutrophil recruitment and activation through this pathway,
we evaluated activation of the TNF-
gene in vivo by assessing whole
lung TNF-
mRNA expression and accumulation of TNF-
protein in
lung and BAL fluid. As demonstrated in Figs. 3
and 4
, there was a
marked increase in lung TNF-
mRNA in response to LPS challenge.
Furthermore, prior treatment with ebselen prevented the induction of
TNF-
mRNA expression which was significant at 30 and 100 mg/kg.
Consistent with the gene expression data, the up-regulated lung and
BALF protein levels for TNF-
were also inhibited after ebselen
pretreatment (Fig. 6
). Dexamethasone was
also able to significantly inhibit protein and mRNA expression for
TNF-
and was more potent than ebselen (Figs. 4
and 6
).
|
shares many of the same biological properties as TNF-
,
including stimulation of chemokine release and up-regulation of
adhesion molecules (34). In this study, LPS inhalation
also induced IL-1
protein expression in BAL fluid and lung
homogenates, which was significantly and dose-dependently inhibited by
ebselen pretreatment. The levels of inhibition achieved by ebselen were
comparable with those obtained with dexamethasone (Fig. 6
Beside the multifunctional cytokines TNF-
and IL-1
, we also
evaluated the potential contribution of the anti-inflammatory
cytokine IL-10 to the protective effect of ebselen. IL-10 mRNA was
detected constitutively in rat lungs and was up-regulated after LPS
inhalation. Ebselen appears to have had no effect on the increased
expression, whereas dexamethasone treatment appears to have reduced the
up-regulated IL-10 mRNA expression (Figs. 3
and 4
). Similar data were
obtained when analyzing lung iNOS mRNA expression (data not shown).
Effect of ebselen on lung ICAM-1 expression
IL-1
together with TNF-
are potent inducers of ICAM-1
expression which has previously been shown to be a requirement for
neutrophil recruitment after airway instillation of LPS (24, 25, 35). Therefore, we postulated that the beneficial effect of
ebselen might occur through the ability of this agent to prevent lung
ICAM-1 expression. There is a constitutive expression of ICAM-1 mRNA
which was significantly up-regulated after LPS challenge (Figs. 3
and 7
). Furthermore, ebselen appears to
modulate the up-regulated ICAM-1 gene, because there was a significant
difference in lung ICAM-1 mRNA expression after induction of lung
injury with and without pretreatment with this agent. This inhibition
occurred in a dose-dependent manner, with residual efficacy at doses as
low as 3 mg/kg (Fig. 7
).
|
We have also examined the effect of ebselen administered in a
therapeutic dosing regimen on airway inflammatory indices in Wistar
rats. The compound (30 mg/kg i.p.) was given at various time points
after LPS challenge, and as a positive control ebselen was also given
before and after challenge. The results depicted in Fig. 8
showed that ebselen given even after
LPS challenge was still effective in inhibiting neutrophil recruitment
in BAL fluid collected 4 h after challenge. The same results were
also obtained when assessing the effect of therapeutically administered
ebselen on BAL fluid and lung tissue TNF-
and IL-1
protein levels
(Fig. 9
). Vehicle treatment at various
time points before or after LPS challenge had no effect on neutrophil
recruitment or cytokine production in BAL fluid and lung tissue
samples.
|
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
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|---|
and IL-1
expression which are potent neutrophil-recruiting
mediators and effective inducers of ICAM-1 expression. Finally, our
data further suggest that macrophage CXC chemokines may be necessary
but not sufficient to cause neutrophilia and that additional mechanisms
may be responsible for neutrophil influx in this rat model of airway
inflammation. LPS inhalation induces a marked neutrophilic inflammation as assessed by BAL cellular profile and MPO content in BAL cell homogenates recovered 4 h postinhalation. This increase in neutrophil count and MPO activity was abrogated by ebselen pretreatment. Ebselen produced a comparable degree of inhibition to that produced by the synthetic glucocorticosteroid dexamethasone in agreement with published data (36). MPO activity in cell-free BAL, used as an index of neutrophil degranulation, was significantly inhibited by ebselen and the standard anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone. These data show that ebselen provided a significant protection against LPS-induced neutrophil recruitment and activation.
To explore the underlying mechanisms by which ebselen achieves its
beneficial effects, we investigated its effect on macrophage CXC
chemokine mRNA and protein expression. In rats, the predominant
-chemokines appear to be the homologs of the three human
growth-related oncogene proteins, CINC-1, CINC2, and CINC3/MIP2
(37, 38). It has previously been shown that among these
chemokines, CINC-1 and MIP-2 (CINC-3) play an important role in the
recruitment of neutrophils to the lung after intratracheal instillation
of cytokines or cytokine-inducing stimuli such as LPS (14, 39, 40, 41). In our model, CINC-1 and MIP-2 both exhibited early
(0.5- to 2-h) peak levels of mRNA expression after LPS challenge,
consistent with their role in the recruitment of neutrophils.
Surprisingly, the marked induction of CINC-1 and MIP-2 protein and/or
mRNA expression in lung and BAL fluid was not inhibited by ebselen
pretreatment, despite the inhibitory effect of ebselen on neutrophil
influx as assessed by both BAL fluid cellularity and MPO content. This
result suggests that the inhibitory effect of ebselen is independent of
the macrophage CXC chemokine expression and that additional mechanisms
are involved in neutrophil recruitment.
Dexamethasone, unlike ebselen, modestly inhibited lung protein and mRNA levels for CINC-1 and MIP-2 and had only a marginal effect on BAL fluid protein expression. In rats, modest glucocorticoid effects on LPS-induced lung expression of CINC and MIP-2 have been reported (42, 43). The observed effect of dexamethasone on CXC chemokine BAL fluid protein level expression is largely in agreement with published data in which airway CINC-1 and/or MIP-2 expression were unaffected by glucocorticoids (36, 44, 45). Stimulus-specific differences in glucocorticoid sensitivity may account for the more potent effect of dexamethasone on lung CINC and MIP-2 expression observed in ozone-exposed brown Norway rats (31, 32).
Our data with ebselen and dexamethasone suggest that additional mechanisms may be responsible for neutrophil chemoattraction. In this respect, LPS-induced CXC chemokine (LIX) has recently been cloned as a glucocorticoid-attenuated response gene and is a potent chemotactic factor for neutrophils (46, 47). LIX message is induced by LPS in fibroblasts, but not in macrophages (46). Beside fibroblast and macrophage chemokines, other CXC chemokines such as epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 and lungkine were recently shown to play a role in neutrophil influx in airway inflammation (48, 49). Whether these chemokines play a role in LPS-induced airway inflammation and their sensitivity to ebselen and glucocorticoids remains to be determined.
IL-10 is among the most potent anti-inflammatory agents induced in
response to LPS (50). Several studies have demonstrated
the ability of IL-10 to down-regulate LPS-inducible mRNA expression of
proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines partly through inhibition of
NF-
B (51, 52). It was also recently shown that mice
pretreated orally with ebselen were dose-dependently protected from Con
A-induced liver injury through up-regulation of IL-10
(53). We have therefore examined the potential
contribution of IL-10 and its sensitivity to modulation by ebselen. In
our model, the up-regulated expression of lung IL-10 was not affected
by ebselen pretreatment, ruling out the contribution of this pathway to
the protective effect of ebselen. Dexamethasone, however significantly
reduced lung IL-10 mRNA expression.
Another mechanism by which LPS promotes acute lung inflammation is by
up-regulating the expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells
and circulating leukocytes (16, 35, 54, 55). Studies have
shown protective effects of both anti-CD11/CD18 and anti-ICAM-1
mAbs in models of acute lung injury, which was attributed to inhibition
of PMN sequestration in the lungs (24, 56, 57, 58). ICAM-1 has
previously been shown to be a requirement for neutrophil recruitment
after airway instillation of LPS with peak levels of expression
associated with maximum leukocyte adherence (35). In
agreement with published data, we found that lung ICAM-1 expression was
up-regulated by LPS exposure (24, 25). Ebselen
dose-dependently abrogated ICAM-1 mRNA expression. Dexamethasone also
diminished ICAM-1 expression to a level similar to that produced by
ebselen. Therefore, it is likely that the diminished ICAM-1 expression
by ebselen and dexamethasone may have contributed to the impaired
neutrophil recruitment. This finding suggests that ebselen exerts its
actions directly on endothelial cells in vivo. However, we cannot
preclude any additional effects that ebselen may have on
PMN-endothelial cell interactions apart from the effect on ICAM-1
expression demonstrated in the present studies. Indeed, ebselen may
have additional effects on other endothelial cell adhesion molecules
involved in lung leukocyte sequestration, and these possibilities
require further investigations. Alternatively, ebselen might inhibit
other cells in vivo from releasing cytokines such as TNF-
and
IL-1
that induce endothelial cell adhesion molecules (see
below).
TNF-
plays an important role in promoting and amplifying lung
inflammation in response to inhaled LPS through the release of
chemotactic factors and by up-regulating the expression of leukocyte
and endothelial cell adhesion molecules (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 23, 25, 44). TNF-
stimulates chemokine release by alveolar
macrophages and by cells that do not respond directly to LPS in vitro,
such as epithelial cells and fibroblasts (16). Exposure to
aerosolized or endotracheally administered rTNF-
has been associated
with chemokine release in bronchoalveolar lining fluid
(59), up-regulation of ICAM-1 on pulmonary vascular
endothelium (23), margination of leukocytes in the
pulmonary vasculature (60), and neutrophilic infiltration
of the interstitium or alveolar septae (60). In agreement
with published data, we found that LPS challenge induces TNF-
protein and/or mRNA expression in lung tissue and BAL fluid, suggesting
an important role of this pleiotropic cytokine in this model (12, 44, 61). Furthermore, ebselen and dexamethasone were able to
inhibit protein and mRNA expression for TNF-
. These results are in
agreement with data showing that ebselen inhibited, in a dose-related
manner, BAL TNF-
induced by Sephadex particle instillation in the
rat and also provided a significant protection against Sephadex-induced
lung edema (62). Our data suggest that the inhibitory
effect of ebselen on neutrophil influx and lung ICAM-1 expression may
be achieved, at least in part, through inhibition of lung and BAL fluid
TNF-
protein and/or mRNA expression. Many of the ebselen effects
have been related to the glutathione peroxidase-mimetic effect of the
drug (1, 9). Therefore, the antioxidant properties of
ebselen are likely to account for the observed effects of ebselen on
inflammatory indices induced by LPS. In support of this hypothesis, it
has been shown that the glutathione-depleting agent diethylmaleate
prevented the intratracheal LPS-induced increase in rat lung PMN influx
by inhibiting up-regulation of lung ICAM-1 mRNA expression independent
of any effect on CINC-1 (63, 64). However, unlike ebselen,
the effect of diethylmaleate was not achieved through modulation of BAL
fluid TNF-
levels (63). The effects of ebselen and
diethylmaleate on neutrophil influx and CINC-1 and ICAM-1 expression
are not a general feature of antioxidants because
N-acetylcysteine was able to prevent PMN influx, partly
through an inhibitory effect on CINC-1 induction (65).
Our data suggest that the protective effect of ebselen involve, at
least in part, an inhibitory effect on ICAM-1 expression and TNF-
production. However, it is likely that other inflammatory mediators
with overlapping functions can also partially fulfil the
proinflammatory activities of TNF-
. In this respect, IL-1
shares
many of the same effects as TNF-
, including neutrophil recruitment,
stimulation of chemokine release, and up-regulation of adhesion
molecules (12, 15, 34). In this study, LPS inhalation was
associated with a significant increase in lung and BAL IL-1
levels,
which was dose-dependently abrogated by ebselen. These data suggest
that the inhibitory effect of ebselen on LPS-induced neutrophil influx
and ICAM-1 expression is partially achieved through an inhibitory
effect on IL-1
. In agreement with an important role of IL-1
in
this model are the findings showing that an anti-IL-1 Ab reduced
LPS-induced lung ICAM-1 mRNA expression, which is necessary for
neutrophil recruitment (25).
Finally, we have also examined the effect of therapeutically
administered ebselen on airway inflammatory indices. The compound given
up to 2 h after LPS challenge was still effective in inhibiting
BAL neutrophilia as well as BAL fluid and lung tissue TNF-
and
IL-1
levels. These data are in agreement with published work showing
ebselen to be efficacious in a therapeutic regimen. Indeed, in rat
immunized with adjuvant (M. butyricum), treatment with
ebselen (100 mg/kg/day for 3 days) when arthritis was fully developed
(13 days after immunization) inhibited by 7279% the neutrophil
migration into arthritic joints and tail (spondylitis) and by 5060%
that into dermal inflammatory reactions induced with zymosan-activated
rat serum, endotoxin (LPS), or IL-1
(11).
Collectively, these data show that ebselen possesses
anti-inflammatory properties in this model of airway inflammation.
Compounds with glutathione peroxidase activity similar to those of
ebselen or ebselen derivatives have been shown to be potent inhibitors
of adhesion molecule (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) expression, leukocyte
recruitment, and TNF-
expression in vitro and in vivo
(66, 67, 68, 69).
In summary, we have shown that the inhibition of neutrophilic
inflammation by ebselen is independent of any effect on the macrophage
CXC chemokine expression. We have also described a novel and specific
mechanism by which ebselen achieved its beneficial effects. We have
shown that ebselen modulates ICAM-1 expression possibly through
inhibition of both TNF-
and IL-1
which are a potent
neutrophil-recruiting mediators and potent inducers of ICAM-1
expression. These effects do not seem to be a global effect of ebselen
on LPS-induced gene expression given that the rise in airway levels for
several candidate mediators including CINC-1, MIP-2, IL-10, and iNOS
were unaffected by this agent. In conclusion, ebselen may be a useful
therapy in lung pathologies in which neutrophilic inflammation is a
feature and where TNF-
and IL-1
productions are the predominant
mediators.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
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2 Abbreviations used in this paper: PMN, polymorphonuclear cell; CINC, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant; MIP-2, macrophage-inflammatory protein-2; BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; iNOS, inducible NO synthase; MPO, myeloperoxidase; LIX, LPS-induced CXC chemokine. ![]()
Received for publication April 24, 2002. Accepted for publication May 8, 2002.
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