Use of collateral airways to assess airway reactivity

We investigated the correlation between collateral airway reactivity and other indexes of lung reactivity in response to aerosol and intravenous (iv) challenges. In four anesthetized mongrel dogs, we measured the peripheral airway resistance (Rp) to gas flow out of a wedged lung segment in different lobes on multiple occasions. We obtained dose-response curves of peripheral airways challenged with iv histamine or aerosols through the bronchoscope. During the same iv bolus challenge, whole lung airway pressure (Paw) responses to histamine were also measured. On separate occasions, changes in lung resistance (RL) were measured after the whole lung was challenged with a histamine aerosol. Reactivity was assessed from the dose-response curves for Rp and RL as the PD50 (dose required to produce a 50% increase); for changes in Paw we calculated the PD15 (dose required to produce a 15% increase over baseline). Results for Rp showed considerably more variability among different lobes in a given animal with the aerosol challenge through the bronchoscope than with the iv challenge. With aerosol challenge there were no significant differences in the mean PD50 for Rp among any of the animals. However, with the iv challenge two of the dogs showed significant differences from the others in reactivity assessed with Rp (P less than 0.01). Moreover, the differences found in the peripheral airways with iv challenge reflected differences found in whole lung reactivity assessed with either iv challenge (Paw vs. Rp, r2 = 0.96) or whole lung aerosol challenge (RL vs. Rp, r2 = 0.84). We conclude that the measurement of the collateral resistance response to iv challenge may provide a sensitive method for assessing airway reactivity.     

PAF mediates cigarette smoke-induced goblet cell metaplasia in guinea pig airways

Goblet cell metaplasia is an important morphological feature in the airways of patients with chronic airway diseases; however, the precise mechanisms that cause this feature are unknown. We investigated the role of endogenous platelet-activating factor (PAF) in airway goblet cell metaplasia induced by cigarette smoke in vivo. Guinea pigs were exposed repeatedly to cigarette smoke for 14 consecutive days. The number of goblet cells in each trachea was determined with Alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff staining. Differential cell counts and PAF levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were also evaluated. Cigarette smoke exposure significantly increased the number of goblet cells. Eosinophils, neutrophils, and PAF levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were also significantly increased after cigarette smoke. Treatment with a specific PAF receptor antagonist, E-6123, significantly attenuated the increases in the number of airway goblet cells, eosinophils, and neutrophils observed after cigarette smoke exposure. These results suggest that endogenous PAF may play a key role in goblet cell metaplasia induced by cigarette smoke and that potential roles exist for inhibitors of PAF receptor in the treatment of hypersecretory airway diseases.     

Epithelial modulation of allergen and drug effects in guinea pig airways.

The effect of egg albumin (EA) challenge on tracheal tube preparations from sensitized guinea pigs was studied with regard to EA permeability, histamine release and penetrability, and the contractile response of the preparation. We used a plethysmographic method that allowed simultaneous measurement of changes in smooth muscle tension and collection of samples for determination of mediators. Our results clearly show that epithelial damage potentiates the contractile response to histamine, potassium ions, and acetylcholine. Epithelial damage did not alter the maximal contractile response in preparations challenged with high antigen concentrations (EA, 1 mg/ml), but histamine release measured in the perfusate increased substantially. The permeability of the preparations to EA was greater when the epithelium was damaged. No increase in the permeability in response to the EA challenge was observed. The present study has demonstrated that guinea pig airway epithelium constitutes a barrier for both antigen and drugs. We also present a method for recording contractile responses from intact whole tracheal preparations, in which the epithelium can still act as a barrier, as is the case in vivo.     

Inflammatory reaction to polyester material in the guinea pig. V. Semiautomatic determination of peritoneal cell volume

The volume of the peritoneal cells of guinea pigs treated with injections of 1) minced polyester threads (Mersilene), 2) saline, and of untreated animals, has been determined utilizing a Coulter Counter coupled with a pulse height analyzer. The volumetric test on the whole cell population has emphasized a distinctly bimodal distribution, due to the presence of two cellular types picked out as first peak (P 1 degrees) and second peak (P 2 degrees), while the non-adherent cells (CNA) have shown an unimodal distribution. Statistically significant difference in the mean volumes have been found between the P 1 degrees and P 2 degrees cells and between the CNA and P 1 degrees cells. The percentage of CNA in the whole cell population significantly decreases in "Mersilene"-treated guinea pigs.     

Cholinergic and nonadrenergic mechanisms in human and guinea pig airways

Electrical field stimulation (70 V, 1 ms, 0.2-500 Hz) of human bronchial strips and guinea pig tracheal chains produced contractile and relaxant responses. Contractions were blocked by atropine, 10(-6) M, and tetrodotoxin (TTX), 0.1-1.0 micrograms/ml, demonstrating a cholinergic excitatory neural component. Frequencies causing half-maximal contractile response to field stimulation (EFc 50) were 10 +/- 2 Hz for guinea pig and 13 +/- 1 Hz for human airways. Relaxations were unmasked by atropine 10(-6) M and slightly diminished by propranolol in guinea pig but not human airways, demonstrating a predominantly nonadrenergic inhibitory pathway in both species. Relaxation of intrinsic tone occurred at stimulation frequencies of 1 Hz or more. Frequencies causing half-maximal relaxation (EFi 50) were 3.5 +/- 0.3 Hz for guinea pig trachealis and 38 +/- 6 Hz for human bronchi. Following 1 microgram/ml TTX, EFi 50 values increased to 104 +/- 12 and 70 +/- 14 Hz, respectively. Frequencies of field stimulation that were inhibitable by TTX (less than or equal to 20 Hz) induced greater relaxation in guinea pig than human airways (70 vs. 10% of the maximal relaxation to 10(-2) M theophylline, respectively). The methods of analysis outlined in this study can be used to compare relative degrees of functional innervation between tissues from the same or different species.     

Immunohistochemical demonstration of airway epithelial cell markers of guinea pig

The guinea pig (Cavea porcellus) is a mammalian non-rodent species in the Caviidae family. The sensitivity of the respiratory system and the susceptibility to infectious diseases allows the guinea pig to be a useful model for both infectious and non-infectious lung diseases such as asthma and tuberculosis. In this report, we demonstrated for the first time, the major cell types and composition in the guinea pig airway epithelium, using cell type-specific markers by immunohistochemical staining using the commercial available immunological reagents that cross-react with guinea pig. Our results revealed the availability of antibodies cross-reacting with airway epithelial cell types of basal, non-ciliated columnar, ciliated, Clara, goblet and alveolar type II cells, as well as those cells expressing Mucin 5AC, Mucin 2, Aquaporin 4 and Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide. The distribution of these various cell types were quantified in the guinea pig airway by immunohistochemical staining and were comparable with morphometric studies using an electron microscopy assay. Moreover, this study also demonstrated that goblet cells are the main secretory cell type in the guinea pig's airway, distinguishing this species from rats and mice. These results provide useful information for the understanding of airway epithelial cell biology and mechanisms of epithelial–immune integration in guinea pig models.     

Interaction of thromboxane A2 and leukotrienes in guinea pig airways in vivo.

Effects of a thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist (S-1452) on bronchoconstriction induced by inhaled leukotriene C4 and a leukotriene receptor antagonist (AS-35) on bronchoconstriction caused by inhalation of a thromboxane A2 mimetic (STA2) were studied in anesthetized, artificially ventilated guinea pigs in order to examine the interaction of thromboxane A2 and leukotrienes in airways. 0.01-1.0 mu g/ml of leukotriene C4 and 0.1-1.0 mu g/ml of STA 2 inhaled from ultrasonic nebulizer developed for small animals caused dose-dependent increase of pressure at the airway opening (Pao) which is considered to be an index representing bronchial response. Pretreatment of the animals with inhaled S-1452 (0.01, 0.033 mg/ml) significantly reduced the airway responses produced by 0.01,0.033,0.1,0.33 and 1.0 mu g/ml of leukotriene C4 in a dose dependent manner. While pretreatment with inhaled AS-35 (1mg) did not affect the STA2 dose-response curve. These findings suggest that leukotriene C4 activates thromboxane A2 generation while thromboxane A2 does not influence 5-lipoxygenase pathway in the airways.     

An indomethacin-sensitive contraction induced by beta-antagonists in guinea pig airways

Beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) antagonists have been associated with increased airway reactivity in asthmatics and potentiation of contractile stimuli in animal models. In the present study, using an in vitro model of tracheal preparations from guinea pigs, we show that the beta-AR antagonists propranolol and pindolol induce a smooth muscle contraction. A prerequisite for this contraction is that the airway preparations have been pre-treated with an beta-AR agonist. Our data show that the contractile effect of beta-AR antagonists is not a simple consequence of reversing the agonist-induced relaxation. Furthermore, the effect seems to be mediated through interaction with beta2-ARs since the response is stereo-selective, and the selective beta1-AR receptor antagonist atenolol did not induce any contractile response. SQ 29,546, a thromboxane A2 antagonist; MK 886, a lipoxygenase inhibitor; and indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor significantly inhibited the contractions of the tracheal preparations induced with propranolol or pindolol. We put forward the hypothesis that the contractile effect of the beta-AR antagonist is a consequence of their inverse agonist activity, which is only evident when the receptor population have a higher basal activity. Our results indicate a novel additional explanation for the known side effect, bronchoconstriction, of beta-AR antagonist.     

Upper airway cooling and l-menthol reduce ventilation in the guinea pig.

Cooling of the upper airway, which stimulates specific cold receptors and inhibits laryngeal mechanoreceptors, reduces respiratory activity in unanesthetized humans and anesthetized animals. This study shows that laryngeal cooling affects the pattern of breathing in the guinea pig and assesses the potential role of cold receptors in this response by using a specific stimulant of cold receptors (l-menthol). The response to airflows (30 ml/s, 10-s duration) through the isolated upper airway was studied in 23 anesthetized (urethan, 1 g/kg ip) guinea pigs breathing through a tracheostomy. Respiratory airflow, tidal volume, laryngeal temperature, and esophageal pressure were recorded before the challenges (control), during cold airflows (25 degrees C, 55% relative humidity), and during warm airflows (37 degrees C, saturated) with or without the addition of l-menthol. Whereas warm air trials had no effect, cold air trials, which lowered laryngeal but not nasal temperature, reduced ventilation (VE) to 85% of control, mainly by prolonging expiratory time (TE, 145% of control), an effect abolished by laryngeal anesthesia. Addition of l-menthol to the warm airflow caused a greater reduction in VE (41% of control) by prolonging TE (1,028% of control). Nasal anesthesia markedly reduced the apneogenic effect of l-menthol but did not affect the response to cold air trials. In conclusion, both cooling of the larynx and l-menthol in the laryngeal lumen reduce ventilation. Exposure of the nasal cavity to l-menthol markedly enhances this ventilatory inhibition; considering the stimulatory effect of l-menthol on cold receptors, these results suggest a predominant role of nasal cold receptors in this response.     

O3-induced mucosa-linked airway muscle hyperresponsiveness in the guinea pig.

We investigated the effects of ozone exposure (3.0 ppm, 2 h) on the responsiveness of guinea pig airway muscle in vitro from animals developing bronchial hyperreactivity. Muscarinic reactivity in vivo was determined by measuring specific airway resistance (sRaw) in response to increasing concentrations of aerosolized acetylcholine (ACh) administered before and 30 min after exposure. Immediately after reactivity testing, multiple tracheal rings from ozone- and air-exposed animals were prepared and the contractile responses to increasing concentrations of substance P, ACh, or KCl were assessed in the presence of 10 microM indomethacin with or without 1 microM phosphoramidon, an inhibitor of neutral endopeptidase. Isometric force generation in vitro was measured on stimulation by cumulative concentrations of the agonists, and force generation (in g/cm2) was calculated after determination of muscle cross-sectional area. The smooth muscle of mucosa-intact airways from guinea pigs with ozone-induced bronchial hyper-reactivity proved to be hyperresponsive in vitro to substance P and ACh but not to KCl. Pretreatment with phosphoramidon abolished the increase in substance P responsiveness but had no effect on muscarinic hyperresponsiveness after ozone exposure. Furthermore, substance P responsiveness was not augmented in ozone-exposed airways in which the mucosa had been removed before testing in vitro. Likewise, muscarinic hyperresponsiveness was not present in ozone-exposed airways without mucosa. Our data indicate that airway smooth muscle responsiveness is increased in guinea pigs with ozone-induced bronchial hyperreactivity and suggest that this hyperresponsiveness may be linked to non-cyclooxygenase mucosa-derived factors.     

Estrogen sulfotransferase distribution in tissues of mouse and guinea pig: steroidal inhibition of the guinea pig enzyme.

The highest total activity of estrogen sulfotransferase in guinea pig is in liver and the highest specific activities are in the adrenal and the midgestational chorion. Guinea pig gonads contain scarcely detectable activities. In CD-1 mice the highest specific activity is in testis and the highest total activity is in late placenta. Adrenals from both sexes and ovaries contain minimal activities, while liver and fetal membrane activities are remarkably low. In CD-1, DBA, C57BL, and BALB mice, qualitative patterns are similar. Purified or partially purified estrogen sulfotransferase from guinea pig adrenal and chorion were used to study the effect of a number of possible steroidal inhibitors. Considerable structural specificity is evident within a range of steroids, even among some which are not substrates. Pregnenolone is the most effective 21-carbon inhibitor and, in general, more highly hydroxylated forms are less inhibitory. Within a series of 21-, 19- and 18-carbon steroids, the structure of the A ring appears to be extremely important in regard to inhibitory effects.     

Protective role of epithelium in the guinea pig airway

We developed an in vitro system to assess the role of the epithelium in regulating airway tone using the intact guinea pig trachea (J. Appl. Physiol. 64: 466-471, 1988). This method allows us to study the response of the airway when its inner epithelial surface or its outer serosal surface is stimulated independently. Using this system we evaluated how the presence of intact epithelium can affect pharmacological responsiveness. We first examined responses of tracheae with intact epithelium to histamine, acetylcholine, and hypertonic KCl when stimulated from the epithelial or serosal side. We then examined the effect of epithelial denudation on the responses to these agonists. With an intact epithelium, stimulation of the inner epithelial side always caused significantly smaller changes in diameter than stimulation of the outer serosal side. After mechanical denudation of the epithelium, these differences were almost completely abolished. In the absence of intact epithelium, the trachea was 35-fold more sensitive to histamine and 115-fold more sensitive to acetylcholine when these agents were applied to the inner epithelial side. In addition, the presence of an intact epithelium almost completely inhibited any response to epithelial side challenge with hypertonic KCl. These results indicate that the airway epithelial layer has a potent protective role in airway responses to luminal side stimuli, leading us to speculate that changes in airway reactivity measured in various conditions including asthma may result in part from changes in epithelial function.     

Histamine H2-receptors in guinea pig peripheral airway smooth muscle.

The presence and function of histamine H₂-receptors in guinea pig lung was studied using lung strips as an in vitro model of peripheral airway smooth muscle. The lung strips were incubated in Krebs-Henseleit solution in the absence or presence of specific antagonists for 20 min prior to the addition of either histamine or dimaprit added in a half-log cumulative fashion. Changes in isometric tension were recorded. Histamine at low concentrations (10^?7?10^?6M) caused a slight relaxation which was potentiated by the histamine H₁-antagonist chlorpheniramine (10^?7 or 10^?6M) and abolished by the histamine H₂-antagonist metiamide (10^?4M). Higher concentrations of histamine produced a dose-related contraction which was antagonized competitively by chlorpheniramine or potentiated by metiamide. Dimaprit, a histamine H₂-agonist, produced only a relaxant response over the concentration range of 10^?7 ? 10^?3M. This relaxation was reduced by metiamide but not by the beta adrenergic antagonist propranolol. These results indicate the presence of both histamine H₂ and H₁-receptors in guinea pig peripheral airway smooth muscle which mediate the relaxant and contractile effects of histamine respectively.     

Prejunctional inhibitory muscarinic receptors on cholinergic nerves in human and guinea pig airways

We have investigated whether prejunctional inhibitory muscarinic receptors ("autoreceptors") exist on cholinergic nerves in human airways in vitro and whether guinea pig trachea provides a good model for further pharmacological characterization of these receptors. Pilocarpine was used as a selective agonist and gallamine as a selective antagonist of these autoreceptors. Acetylcholine (ACh) release from postganglionic cholinergic nerves was elicited by electrical field stimulation (EFS) (40 V, 0.5 ms, 32 Hz). In human bronchi, pilocarpine inhibited the contractile response to EFS in a dose-related fashion; the dose inhibiting 50% of the control contraction was 2.2 +/- 0.4 x 10(-7) (SE) M (n = 22), and the inhibition was 96% at 3 x 10(-5) M. The inhibitory effects of pilocarpine were antagonized by gallamine in a dose-related fashion. The results were qualitatively the same in the guinea pig. Gallamine significantly enhanced the contractile response to EFS in the guinea pig, whereas pirenzepine failed to do so, which suggests that M2-receptors are involved. We conclude that prejunctional muscarinic receptors that inhibit ACh release are present on cholinergic nerves in human airways and that guinea pig trachea is a good model for further pharmacological characterization of these receptors, which appear to belong to the M2-subtype.