Alcohol feeding blocks methacholine-induced airway responsiveness in mice

Historical accounts of alcohol administration to patients with breathing problems suggest that alcohol may have bronchodilating properties. We hypothesized that acute alcohol exposure will alter airway responsiveness (AR) in mice. To test this hypothesis, C57BL/6 mice were fed either 20% alcohol in drinking water (fed) or received a single intraperitoneal (ip) injection of alcohol (3 g/kg). Control groups received regular drinking water or ip saline. AR was assessed by means of ventilation or barometric plethysmography and reported as either total lung resistance or enhanced pause for each group of mice. To confirm alcohol exposure, elevated blood alcohol levels were documented. Alcohol feeding significantly blocked methacholine-triggered AR compared with water-fed controls. Comparable blunting of AR was also accomplished through a single ip injection of alcohol when compared with saline-injected controls. The alcohol response was slowly reversible in both routes of administration after withdrawal of alcohol: AR attenuation by alcohol persisted 12-20 h (ip) or up to 2 wk (fed) after blood alcohol cleared consistent with a sustained bronchodilator effect. These data demonstrate that brief alcohol exposure blunts AR in this murine model of alcohol exposure suggesting a role for alcohol in the modulation of bronchial motor tone.     

Amplification of airway constriction due to liquid filling of airway interstices

Luminal epithelial projections formed during bronchoconstriction define interstices in which liquid can collect. Liquid in these interstices could amplify the degree of luminal compromise due to muscular contraction in at least two distinct ways. First, the luminal cross-sectional area is reduced by simple filling of the interstices. Second, if the surface tension (gamma) of the air-liquid interface is positive, the pressure drop across the interface produces an additional inward force that can further constrict the airway. We present a theoretical treatment of these two mechanisms together with data which suggest that both may significantly amplify the luminal narrowing due to airway smooth muscle contraction, particularly in small airways when gamma is high. To qualitatively assess the effects of altered gamma, guinea pig lungs with normal and altered airway liquid lining layers were frozen and studied while fully hydrated by low-temperature scanning electron microscopy. Airway gamma was altered in these animals by intratracheal instillation of 0.5 mg lysoplatelet-activating factor (lyso-PAF). The interstices of normal airways were dry, whereas the interstices of airways with altered surface lining layers were liquid filled. In addition, the surfactant inhibitory properties of lyso-PAF, 2-arachidonyl-PAF, and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were measured with a pulsating bubble surfactometer, using surfactant TA as the model surfactant. Minimal gamma (gamma min) of surfactant TA alone was 4.0 +/- 0.2 dyn/cm; a 5% mixture of lyso-PAF with surfactant TA resulted in a significantly (P less than 0.02) greater gamma min of 8.8 +/- 1.8 dyn/cm. In contrast, 2-arachidonyl-PAF and DPPC had minimal effects on gamma min of surfactant TA.     

Importance of calcium in citric acid-induced airway constriction

In previous studies, a 5-min inhalational challenge with 10% citric acid aerosol (0.52 M) elicited bronchoconstriction in Basenji-Greyhound (BG) dogs with hyperreactive airways but not in mongrel dogs. This response was independent of vagal reflexes because it was not attenuated by atropine. Citric acid might elicit bronchoconstriction because of acidity, calcium chelation, or some other effect of the citrate molecule. To assess these factors, barbiturate-anesthetized BG dogs were challenged (5 min) with aerosols of 10% acetic acid or a citric acid (0.48 M)/Na3citrate (0.04 M) mixture of equivalent pH, 6% Na2-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), or 6% CaNa2EDTA. Each challenge was delivered in a separate week. The acidity alone was not an adequate stimulus, since pulmonary resistance (RL) was unaltered by 10% acetic acid, although markedly increased by the citric acid-Na3citrate mixture [2.2 +/- 0.4 (SE) cmH2O X l-1 X s prechallenge, 10.0 +/- 2.2 postchallenge]. Aerosols of Na2EDTA provoked a similar increase in RL (2.1 +/- 0.4 cmH2O X l-1 X s prechallenge, 9.0 +/- 1.8 postchallenge). Neither effect was attenuated by intravenous atropine (0.2 mg/kg). CaNa2EDTA caused no changes in RL. We conclude that it is the calcium chelating action of citric acid rather than its acidity that is responsible for bronchoconstriction in BG dogs with hyperreactive airways.     

Deep breath reversal and exponential return of methacholine-induced obstruction in asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects.

A deep breath (DB) during induced obstruction results in a transient reversal with a return to pre-DB levels in both asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects. The time course of this transient recovery has been reported to be exponential by one group but linear by another group. In the present study, we estimated airway resistance (Raw) from measurements of respiratory system transfer impedance before and after a DB. Nine healthy subjects and nine asthmatic subjects were studied at their maximum response during a methacholine challenge. In all subjects, the DB resulted in a rapid decrease in Raw, which then returned to pre-DB levels. This recovery was well fit with a monoexponential function in both groups, and the time constant was significantly smaller in the asthmatic than the nonasthmatic subjects (11.6 +/- 5.0 and 35.1 +/- 15.9 s, respectively). Obstruction was completely reversed in the nonasthmatic subjects (pre- and postchallenge mean Raw immediately after the DB were 2.03 +/- 0.66 and 2.06 +/- 0.68 cmH2O.l-1.s, respectively), whereas in the asthmatic subjects complete reversal did not occur (2.29 +/- 0.78 and 4.84 +/- 2.64 cmH2O.l-1.s, respectively). Raw after the DB returned to postchallenge, pre-DB values in the nonasthmatic subjects (3.78 +/- 1.56 and 3.97 +/- 1.63 cmH2O.l-1.s, respectively), whereas in the asthmatic subjects it was higher but not significantly so (9.19 +/- 4.95 and 7.14 +/- 3.56 cmH2O.l-1.s, respectively). The monoexponential recovery suggests a first-order process such as airway wall-parenchymal tissue interdependence or renewed constriction of airway smooth muscle.     

Partitioning of lung tissue response and inhomogeneous airway constriction at the airway opening

Suki, Béla, Huichin Yuan, Qin Zhang, and Kenneth R. Lutchen. Partitioning of lung tissue response and inhomogeneous airway constriction at the airway opening. J. Appl.Physiol. 82(4): 1349-1359, 1997.During abronchial challenge, much of the observed response of lung tissues isan artifactual consequence of inhomogeneous airway constriction.Inhomogeneities, in the sense of time constant inequalities, are aninherently linear phenomenon. Conversely, if lung tissues respond to abronchoagonist, they become more nonlinear. On the basis of thesedistinct responses, we present an approach to separate real tissuechanges from airway inhomogeneities. We developed a lung model thatincludes airway inhomogeneities in the form of a continuousdistribution of airway resistances and nonlinear viscoelastic tissues.Because time domain data are dominated by nonlinearities, whereasfrequency domain data are most sensitive to inhomogeneities, we apply acombined time-frequency domain identification scheme. This model wastested with simulated data from a morphometrically based airway modelmimicking gross peripheral airway inhomogeneities and shown capable ofrecovering all tissue parameters to within 15% error. Application toour previously measured data suggests that in dogs during histamine infusion 1) the distribution ofairway resistances increases widely and2) lung tissues do respond but lessso than previously reported. This approach, then, is unique in itsability to differentiate between airway and tissue responses to anagonist from a single broadband measurement made at the airway opening.

     

Noninvasive detection of airway constriction in awake guinea pigs

Tidal volume measured by the barometric method is very sensitive to increases in compression and expansion of alveolar gas, such as would be expected to occur during airway narrowing or closure. By comparing a barometric method tidal volume signal (VT') with a reference tidal volume (VT) obtained with a head-out pressure plethysmograph, a simple index related to gas compressibility effects was calculated (VT/VT'). Changes in this index were compared with decreases in dynamic compliance (Cdyn) during histamine aerosol challenge of 15 Charles River Hartley guinea pigs. Decreases in VT/VT' occurred during all aerosol challenges and were correlated with decreases in Cdyn (r = 0.84, P less than 0.001). Decreases in VT/VT' were most marked at Cdyn values of less than 50% of base line. At Cdyn of less than 15% of base line, VT' was 3.1-4.8 times the VT reference signal. No increase in total pulmonary resistance was noted, and Cdyn and VT/VT' returned to base line after histamine exposure was stopped. We conclude that gas compressibility effects become substantial during histamine-induced airway constriction in the guinea pig and that the VT/VT' ratio appears to provide a simple noninvasive method of detecting these changes.     

Bronchial blood flow affects recovery from constriction in dog lung periphery

We investigated the effect of eliminating the bronchial circulation on recovery time from intravenous histamine challenge in canine lung periphery. Results from animals with intact bronchial circulations were compared with a second group in which the left lower lobe was isolated in situ. The pulmonary artery to this lobe was perfused and a bronchoscope was wedged in a small airway, which provided an index of resistance to airflow through the collateral system. The lobe was challenged with intravenous histamine, and the time constant of recovery (tau) from bronchoconstriction was measured. With or without pulmonary blood flow, elimination of the bronchial circulation increased tau 44.4 and 48.5%, respectively. This increase was similar to that found by stopping pulmonary blood flow alone (56.5%). Histamine challenges were also performed in sympathectomized or vagotomized animals with intact bronchial circulations. Neither of these conditions increased tau. We conclude that blood flow through the bronchial circulation affects the recovery time from intravenous histamine challenge in the lung periphery to a degree similar to that of the pulmonary circulation.     

Local small airway epithelial injury induces global smooth muscle contraction and airway constriction

Small airway epithelial cells form a continuous sheet lining the conducting airways, which serves many functions including a physical barrier to protect the underlying tissue. In asthma, injury to epithelial cells can occur during bronchoconstriction, which may exacerbate airway hyperreactivity. To investigate the role of epithelial cell rupture in airway constriction, laser ablation was used to precisely rupture individual airway epithelial cells of small airways (<300-μm diameter) in rat lung slices (～250-μm thick). Laser ablation of single epithelial cells using a femtosecond laser reproducibly induced airway contraction to ～70% of the original cross-sectional area within several seconds, and the contraction lasted for up to 40 s. The airway constriction could be mimicked by mechanical rupture of a single epithelial cell using a sharp glass micropipette but not with a blunt glass pipette. These results suggest that soluble mediators released from the wounded epithelial cell induce global airway contraction. To confirm this hypothesis, the lysate of primary human small airway epithelial cells stimulated a similar airway contraction. Laser ablation of single epithelial cells triggered a single instantaneous Ca(2+) wave in the epithelium, and multiple Ca(2+) waves in smooth muscle cells, which were delayed by several seconds. Removal of extracellular Ca(2+) or decreasing intracellular Ca(2+) both blocked laser-induced airway contraction. We conclude that local epithelial cell rupture induces rapid and global airway constriction through release of soluble mediators and subsequent Ca(2+)-dependent smooth muscle shortening.     

Detection of mediator-induced airway constriction by barometric plethysmography in mice

The barometric method has recently been employed to detect airway constriction in small animals. This study was designed to evaluate the barometric method to detect mediator-induced central and peripheral airway constriction in BALB/c mice. First, the central airway constrictor carbachol and the peripheral airway constrictor histamine were employed to induce airway constriction, which was detected by both the conventional body plethysmography and the barometric method in anesthetized mice. Second, bronchoconstriction induced by aerosolized carbachol or other mediators was detected with the barometric plethysmography in conscious, unrestrained mice. Carbachol inhalation caused about four-fold increase in pulmonary resistance (RL) and about two-fold increase in enhanced pause (Penh) in anesthetized mice. In contrast, in the same preparation, histamine aerosol induced a decrease in dynamic compliance (Cdyn), with no alteration in RL or Penh. In awake mice, carbachol and methacholine caused increases in Penh, frequency, and tidal volume (VT). On the other hand, histamine, histamine + bradykinin, and prostaglandin-D2 did not alter Penh but decreased VT in conscious mice. These data suggest that there was no sufficient evidence to indicate that Penh could be a good indicator of bronchoconstriction for the whole airways.     

Assessment of heterogeneous airway constriction in dogs: a structure-function analysis

Obstructive lung diseases are often characterized by heterogeneous patterns of bronchoconstriction, although specific relationships between structural heterogeneity and lung function have yet to be established. We measured respiratory input impedance (Zrs) in eight anesthetized dogs using broadband forced oscillations at baseline and during intravenous methacholine (MCh) infusion. We also obtained high-resolution computed tomographic (HRCT) scans in 4 dogs and identified 20-30 individual airway segments in each animal. The Zrs spectra and HRCT images were obtained before and 5 min following a deep inspiration (DI) to 35 cmH(2)O. Each Zrs spectrum was fitted with two different models of the respiratory system: 1) a lumped airways model consisting of a single airway compartment, and 2) a distributed airways model incorporating a continuous distribution of airway resistances. For the latter, we found that the mean level and spread of airway resistances increased with MCh dose. Whereas a DI had no effect on average airway resistance during MCh infusion, it did increase the level of airway heterogeneity. At baseline and low-to-moderate doses of MCh, the lumped airways model was statistically more appropriate to describe Zrs in the majority of dogs. At the highest doses of MCh, the distributed airways model provided a superior fit in half of the dogs. There was a significant correlation between heterogeneity assessed with inverse modeling and the standard deviation of airway diameters obtained from HRCT. These data demonstrate that increases in airway heterogeneity as assessed with forced oscillations and inverse modeling can be linked to specific structural alterations in airway diameters.