技术资料

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important contributor to the asthmatic phenotype. Recent studies investigating airway inflammation have demonstrated an association between hyaluronan (HA) accumulation and inflammatory cell infiltration of the airways. The ECM proteoglycan versican interacts with HA and is important in the recruitment and activation of leukocytes during inflammation. We investigated the role of versican in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation. Using cockroach antigen (CRA)-sensitized murine models of allergic asthma,we demonstrate increased subepithelial versican in the airways of CRA-treated mice that parallels subepithelial increases in HA and leukocyte infiltration. During the acute phase,CRA-treated mice displayed increased gene expression of the four major versican isoforms,as well as increased expression of HA synthases. Furthermore,in a murine model that examines both acute and chronic CRA exposure,versican staining peaked 8 days following CRA challenge and preceded subepithelial leukocyte infiltration. We also assessed versican and HA expression in differentiated primary human airway epithelial cells from asthmatic and healthy children. Increases in the expression of versican isoforms and HA synthases in these epithelial cells were similar to those of the murine model. These data indicate an important role for versican in the establishment of airway inflammation in asthma. View Publication

BACKGROUND: The cadmium (Cd) present in air pollutants and cigarette smoke has the potential of causing multiple adverse health outcomes involving damage to pulmonary and cardiovascular tissue. Injury to pulmonary epithelium may include alterations in tight junction (TJ) integrity,resulting in impaired epithelial barrier function and enhanced penetration of chemicals and biomolecules. Herein,we investigated mechanisms involved in the disruption of TJ integrity by Cd exposure using an in vitro human air-liquid-interface (ALI) airway tissue model derived from normal primary human bronchial epithelial cells. METHODS: ALI cultures were exposed to noncytotoxic doses of CdCl2 basolaterally and TJ integrity was measured by Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) and immunofluorescence staining with TJ markers. PCR array analysis was used to identify genes involved with TJ collapse. To explore the involvement of kinase signaling pathways,cultures were treated with CdCl2 in the presence of kinase inhibitors specific for cellular Src or Protein Kinase C (PKC). RESULTS: Noncytotoxic doses of CdCl2 resulted in the collapse of barrier function,as demonstrated by TEER measurements and Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin staining. CdCl2 exposure altered the expression of several groups of genes encoding proteins involved in TJ homeostasis. In particular,down-regulation of select junction-interacting proteins suggested that a possible mechanism for Cd toxicity involves disruption of the peripheral junctional complexes implicated in connecting membrane-bound TJ components to the actin cytoskeleton. Inhibition of kinase signaling using inhibitors specific for cellular Src or PKC preserved the integrity of TJs,possibly by preventing occludin tyrosine hyperphosphorylation,rather than reversing the down-regulation of the junction-interacting proteins. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that acute doses of Cd likely disrupt TJ integrity in human ALI airway cultures both through occludin hyperphosphorylation via kinase activation and by direct disruption of the junction-interacting complex. View Publication

A major challenge in developing gene-based therapies for airway diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) is sustaining therapeutic levels of transgene expression over time. This is largely due to airway epithelial cell turnover and the host immunogenicity to gene delivery vectors. Modern gene editing tools and delivery vehicles hold great potential for overcoming this challenge. There is currently not much known about how to deliver genes into airway stem cells,of which basal cells are the major type in human airways. In this study,helper-dependent adenoviral (HD-Ad) vectors were delivered to mouse and pig airways via intranasal delivery,and direct bronchoscopic instillation,respectively. Vector transduction was assessed by immunostaining of lung tissue sections,which revealed that airway basal cells of mice and pigs can be targeted in vivo. In addition,efficient transduction of primary human airway basal cells was verified with an HD-Ad vector expressing green fluorescent protein. Furthermore,we successfully delivered the human CFTR gene to airway basal cells from CF patients,and demonstrated restoration of CFTR channel activity following cell differentiation in air-liquid interface culture. Our results provide a strong rationale for utilizing HD-Ad vectors to target airway basal cells for permanent gene correction of genetic airway diseases. View Publication

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) enter cells via two distinct pathways: the endosomal pathway using cathepsins to activate spike protein and the cell-surface or early endosome pathway using extracellular proteases such as transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). We previously reported that clinical isolates of HCoV-229E preferred cell-surface TMPRSS2 to endosomal cathepsin for cell entry,and that they acquired the ability to use cathepsin L by repeated passage in cultured cells and were then able to enter cells via the endosomal pathway. Here,we show that clinical isolates of HCoV-OC43 and -HKU1 preferred the cell-surface TMRRSS2 to endosomal cathepsins for cell entry,similar to HCoV-229E. In addition,the cell-culture-adapted HCoV-OC43 lost the ability to infect and replicate in air-liquid interface cultures of human bronchial tracheal epithelial cells. These results suggest that circulating HCoVs in the field generally use cell-surface TMPRSS2 for cell entry,not endosomal cathepsins,in human airway epithelial cells. View Publication