Carol Ballinger

Knockout of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 gene reduces amyloid beta peptide burden in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Accumulation of amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) in the brain is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimers disease (AD); the underlying mechanism, however, is not well understood. In this study, we show that expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), a physiological inhibitor of tissue type and urokinase type plasminogen activators (tPA and uPA), increases with age in the brain of wild type and Aβ precursor protein-presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) transgenic mice as well as in AD patients. Most importantly, we show that knocking out the PAI-1 gene dramatically reduces Aβ burden in the brain of APP/PS1 mice but has no effect on the levels of full-length APP, alpha or beta C-terminal fragments. Furthermore, we show that knocking out the PAI-1 gene leads to increases in the activities of tPA and plasmin, and the plasmin activity inversely correlates with the amounts of SDS insoluble Aβ40 and Aβ42. Together, these data suggest that increased PAI-1 expression/activity contributes importantly to Aβ accumulation during aging and in AD probably by inhibiting plasminogen activation and thus Aβ degradation.

Three-Dimensional Mapping of Ozone-Induced Injury in the Nasal Airways of Monkeys Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Morphometric Techniques

Age-related changes in gross and microscopic structure of the nasal cavity may alter local tissue susceptibility as well as the dose of inhaled toxicant delivered to susceptible sites. This article describes a novel method for the use of magnetic resonance imaging, 3-dimensional airway modeling, and morphometric techniques to characterize the distribution and magnitude of ozone-induced nasal injury in infant monkeys. Using this method, we generated age-specific, 3-dimensional, epithelial maps of the nasal airways of infant Rhesus macaques. The principal nasal lesions observed in this primate model of ozone-induced nasal toxicology were neutrophilic rhinitis, along with necrosis and exfoliation of the epithelium lining the anterior maxilloturbinate. These lesions, induced by acute or cyclic (episodic) exposures, were examined by light microscopy, quantified by morphometric techniques, and mapped on 3-dimensional models of the nasal airways. Here, we describe the histopathologic, imaging, and computational biology methods developed to precisely characterize, localize, quantify, and map these nasal lesions. By combining these techniques, the location and severity of the nasal epithelial injury were correlated with epithelial type, nasal airway geometry, and local biochemical and molecular changes on an individual animal basis. These correlations are critical for accurate predictive modeling of exposure-dose-response relationships in the nasal airways, and subsequent extrapolation of nasal findings in animals to humans for determining risk.

Transforming growth factor β suppresses glutamate–cysteine ligase gene expression and induces oxidative stress in a lung fibrosis model

The concentration of glutathione (GSH), the most abundant intracellular free thiol and an important antioxidant, is decreased in the lung in both fibrotic diseases and experimental fibrosis models. The underlying mechanisms and biological significance of GSH depletion, however, remain unclear. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is the most potent and ubiquitous profibrogenic cytokine and its expression is increased in almost all fibrotic diseases. In this study, we show that increasing TGF-β1 expression in mouse lung to a level comparable to those found in lung fibrotic diseases by intranasal instillation of AdTGF-β1(223/225), an adenovirus expressing constitutively active TGF-β1, suppressed the expression of both catalytic and modifier subunits of glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), the rate-limiting enzyme in de novo GSH synthesis, decreased GSH concentration, and increased protein and lipid peroxidation in mouse lung. Furthermore, we show that increasing TGF-β1 expression activated JNK and induced activating transcription factor 3, a transcriptional repressor involved in the regulation of the catalytic subunit of GCL, in mouse lung. Control virus (AdDL70-3) had no significant effect on any of these parameters, compared to saline-treated control. Concurrent with GSH depletion, TGF-β1 induced lung epithelial apoptosis and robust pulmonary fibrosis. Importantly, lung GSH levels returned to normal, whereas fibrosis persisted at least 21 days after TGF-β1 instillation. Together, the data suggest that increased TGF-β1 expression may contribute to the GSH depletion observed in pulmonary fibrosis diseases and that GSH depletion may be an early event in, rather than a consequence of, fibrosis development.

Increased transforming growth factor beta 1 expression mediates ozone-induced airway fibrosis in mice

Ozone (O3), a commonly encountered environmental pollutant, has been shown to induce pulmonary fibrosis in different animal models; the underlying mechanism, however, remains elusive. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying O3-induced pulmonary fibrosis, 6- to 8-week-old C57BL/6 male mice were exposed to a cyclic O3 exposure protocol consisting of 2 days of filtered air and 5 days of O3 exposure (0.5 ppm, 8 h/day) for 5 and 10 cycles with or without intraperitoneal injection of IN-1233, a specific inhibitor of the type 1 receptor of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), the most potent profibrogenic cytokine. The results showed that O3 exposure for 5 or 10 cycles increased the TGF-β protein level in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF), associated with an increase in the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), a TGF-β-responsive gene that plays a critical role in the development of fibrosis under various pathological conditions. Cyclic O3 exposure also increased the deposition of collagens and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in airway walls. However, these fibrotic changes were not overt until after 10 cycles of O3 exposure. Importantly, blockage of the TGF-β signaling pathway with IN-1233 suppressed O3-induced Smad2/3 phosphorylation, PAI-1 expression, as well as collagens and α-SMA deposition in the lung. Our data demonstrate for the first time that O3 exposure increases TGF-β expression and activates TGF-β signaling pathways, which mediates O3-induced lung fibrotic responses in vivo.