Occurence of lipid bodies in canine type II pneumocytes during hypothermic lung ischemia

The highly packed and dehydrated structure of pre-formed unexposed human pulmonary surfactant isolated from amniotic fluid

By coating the alveolar air-liquid interface, lung surfactant overwhelms surface tension forces that, otherwise, would hinder the lifetime effort of breathing. Years of research have provided a picture of how highly hydrophobic and specialized proteins in surfactant promote rapid and efficient formation of phospholipid-based complex three-dimensional films at the respiratory surface, highly stable under the demanding breathing mechanics. However, recent evidence suggest that the structure and performance of surfactant typically isolated from bronchoalveolar lung lavages may be far from that of nascent, still unused, surfactant as freshly secreted by type II pneumocytes into the alveolar airspaces. In the present work, we report the isolation of lung surfactant from human amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid surfactant, AFS) and a detailed description of its composition, structure and surface activity in comparison to a natural surfactant (NS) purified from porcine bronchoalveolar lavages. We observe that the lipid/protein complexes in AFS exhibit a substantially higher lipid packing and dehydration than in NS. AFS shows melting transitions at higher temperatures than NS and a conspicuous presence of non-lamellar phases. The surface activity of AFS is not only comparable to that of NS under physiologically-meaningful conditions, but displays significantly higher resistance to inhibition by serum or meconium, agents that inactivate surfactant in the context of severe respiratory pathologies. We propose that AFS may be the optimal model to study the molecular mechanisms sustaining pulmonary surfactant performance in health and disease, and the reference material to develop improved therapeutic surfactant preparations to treat yet unresolved respiratory pathologies.

Categorization of lung mesenchymal cells in development and fibrosis

Pulmonary mesenchymal cells are critical players in both the mouse and human during lung development and disease states. They are increasingly recognized as highly heterogeneous, but there is no consensus on subpopulations or discriminative markers for each subtype. We completed scRNA-seq analysis of mesenchymal cells from the embryonic, postnatal, adult and aged fibrotic lungs of mice and humans. We consistently identified and delineated the transcriptome of lipofibroblasts, myofibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, pericytes, mesothelial cells, and a novel population characterized by Ebf1 expression. Subtype selective transcription factors and putative divergence of the clusters during development were described. Comparative analysis revealed orthologous subpopulations with conserved transcriptomic signatures in murine and human lung mesenchymal cells. All mesenchymal subpopulations contributed to matrix gene expression in fibrosis. This analysis would enhance our understanding of mesenchymal cell heterogeneity in lung development, homeostasis and fibrotic disease conditions.

Using electron microscopes to look into the lung

In the nineteenth century, there was a dispute about the existence of a lung alveolar epithelium which remained unsolved until the invention of electron microscopy (EM) and its application to the lung. From the early 1960s, Ewald Weibel became the master of lung EM. He showed that the alveolar epithelium is covered with a lining layer containing surfactant. Weibel also explained the phenomenon of "non-nucleated plates" observed already in 1881 by Albert Kölliker. Weibel's most significant contribution was to the development of stereological methods. Therefore, quantitative characterization of lung structure revealing structure-function relationships became possible. Today, the spectrum of EM methods to study the fine structure of the lung has been extended significantly. Cryo-preparation techniques are available which are necessary for immunogold labeling of molecules. Energy-filtering techniques can be used for the detection of elements. There have also been major improvements in stereology, thus providing a very versatile toolbox for quantitative lung phenotype analyses. A new dimension was added by 3D EM techniques. Depending on the desired sample size and resolution, the spectrum ranges from array tomography via serial block face scanning EM and focused ion beam scanning EM to electron tomography. These 3D datasets provide new insights into lung ultrastructure. Biomedical EM is an ever-developing field. Its high resolution remains unparalleled. Moreover, EM has the unique advantage of providing an "open view" into cells and tissues within their full architectural context. Therefore, EM will remain an indispensable tool for a better understanding of the lung's functional design.

How common is the lipid body-containing interstitial cell in the mammalian lung?

Pulmonary lipofibroblasts are thought to be involved in lung development, regeneration, vitamin A storage, and surfactant synthesis. Most of the evidence for these important functions relies on mouse or rat studies. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the presence of lipofibroblasts in a variety of early postnatal and adult mammalian species (including humans) to evaluate the ability to generalize functions of this cell type for other species. For this purpose, lung samples from 14 adult mammalian species as well as from postnatal mice, rats, and humans were investigated using light and electron microscopic stereology to obtain the volume fraction and the total volume of lipid bodies. In adult animals, lipid bodies were observed only, but not in all rodents. In all other species, no lipofibroblasts were observed. In rodents, lipid body volume scaled with body mass with an exponent b = 0.73 in the power law equation. Lipid bodies were not observed in postnatal human lungs but showed a characteristic postnatal increase in mice and rats and persisted at a lower level in the adult animals. Among 14 mammalian species, lipofibroblasts were only observed in rodents. The great increase in lipid body volume during early postnatal development of the mouse lung confirms the special role of lipofibroblasts during rodent lung development. It is evident that the cellular functions of pulmonary lipofibroblasts cannot be transferred easily from rodents to other species, in particular humans.

Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin restores the structure and function of pulmonary surfactant films impaired by cholesterol

Pulmonary surfactant, a defined mixture of lipids and proteins, imparts very low surface tension to the lung-air interface by forming an incompressible film. In acute respiratory distress syndrome and other respiratory conditions, this function is impaired by a number of factors, among which is an increase of cholesterol in surfactant. The current study shows in vitro that cholesterol can be extracted from surfactant and function subsequently restored to dysfunctional surfactant films in a dose-dependent manner by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MbetaCD). Bovine lipid extract surfactant was supplemented with cholesterol to serve as a model of dysfunctional surfactant. Likewise, when cholesterol in a complex with MbetaCD ("water-soluble cholesterol") was added in aqueous solution, surfactant films were rendered dysfunctional. Atomic force microscopy showed recovery of function by MbetaCD is accompanied by the re-establishment of the native film structure of a lipid monolayer with scattered areas of lipid bilayer stacks, whereas dysfunctional films lacked bilayers. The current study expands upon a recent perspective of surfactant inactivation in disease and suggests a potential treatment.

Exogenous surfactant application in a rat lung ischemia reperfusion injury model: effects on edema formation and alveolar type II cells

Background

Prophylactic exogenous surfactant therapy is a promising way to attenuate the ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury associated with lung transplantation and thereby to decrease the clinical occurrence of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, there is little information on the mode by which exogenous surfactant attenuates I/R injury of the lung. We hypothesized that exogenous surfactant may act by limiting pulmonary edema formation and by enhancing alveolar type II cell and lamellar body preservation. Therefore, we investigated the effect of exogenous surfactant therapy on the formation of pulmonary edema in different lung compartments and on the ultrastructure of the surfactant producing alveolar epithelial type II cells.

Methods

Rats were randomly assigned to a control, Celsior (CE) or Celsior + surfactant (CE+S) group (n = 5 each). In both Celsior groups, the lungs were flush-perfused with Celsior and subsequently exposed to 4 h of extracorporeal ischemia at 4°C and 50 min of reperfusion at 37°C. The CE+S group received an intratracheal bolus of a modified natural bovine surfactant at a dosage of 50 mg/kg body weight before flush perfusion. After reperfusion (Celsior groups) or immediately after sacrifice (Control), the lungs were fixed by vascular perfusion and processed for light and electron microscopy. Stereology was used to quantify edematous changes as well as alterations of the alveolar epithelial type II cells.

Results

Surfactant treatment decreased the intraalveolar edema formation (mean (coefficient of variation): CE: 160 mm³ (0.61) vs. CE+S: 4 mm³ (0.75); p < 0.05) and the development of atelectases (CE: 342 mm³ (0.90) vs. CE+S: 0 mm³; p < 0.05) but led to a higher degree of peribronchovascular edema (CE: 89 mm³ (0.39) vs. CE+S: 268 mm³ (0.43); p < 0.05). Alveolar type II cells were similarly swollen in CE (423 μm³(0.10)) and CE+S (481 μm³(0.10)) compared with controls (323 μm³(0.07); p < 0.05 vs. CE and CE+S). The number of lamellar bodies was increased and the mean lamellar body volume was decreased in both CE groups compared with the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Intratracheal surfactant application before I/R significantly reduces the intraalveolar edema formation and development of atelectases but leads to an increased development of peribronchovascular edema. Morphological changes of alveolar type II cells due to I/R are not affected by surfactant treatment. The beneficial effects of exogenous surfactant therapy are related to the intraalveolar activity of the exogenous surfactant.

Pulmonary abnormalities due to ABCA1 deficiency in mice

Mice gene targeted for ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1; Abca1−/−) have been shown to have low-serum high-density lipoprotein and abnormal lung morphology. We examined alterations in the structure and function of lungs from −/− mice (DBA1/J). Electron microscopy of the diseased mouse lung revealed areas of focal disease confirming previous results ( 47 ). Lipid analysis of the lung tissue of −/− mice showed a 1.2- and 1.4-fold elevation in total phospholipid (PL) and saturated phosphatidylcholine, respectively, and a marked 50% enrichment in total cholesterol content predominately due to a 17.5-fold increase in cholesteryl ester compared with wild type (WT). Lung surfactant in the −/− mice was characterized by alveolar proteinosis (161%), a slight increase in total PL (124%), and a marked increase in free cholesterol (155%) compared with WT. Alveolar macrophages were enriched in cholesterol (4.8-fold) due to elevations in free cholesterol (2.4-fold) and in cholesteryl ester (14.8-fold) compared with WT macrophages. More PL mass was cleared from the alveolar space of −/− mice lungs, measured using intratracheal installation of3H-PL liposomes. Compared with WT mice, the Abca1−/−mice demonstrated respiratory distress with rapid, shallow breathing. Thus the lungs of mice lacking ABCA1 protein demonstrated abnormal morphology and physiology, with alveolar proteinosis and cholesterol enrichment of tissue, surfactant, and macrophages. The results indicate that the activity of ABCA1 is important for the maintenance of normal lung lipid composition, structure, and function.