Marie A. Shatos

Prevention of asbestos induced cell death in rat lung fibroblasts and alveolar macrophages by scavengers of active oxygen species

Cell injury and inflammation caused by asbestos are critical to the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis). Our goal in studies here was to investigate the possible modulation of asbestos-related cell death using antioxidants in both target and effector cells of asbestosis. After exposure to crocidolite asbestos at a range of concentrations (2.5-25 micrograms/cm2 dish), the viability of a normal rat lung fibroblast line (RL-82) and freshly isolated alveolar macrophages (AM) was determined by exclusion of trypan blue and nigrosin, respectively. In comparison to fibroblasts, AM were more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of asbestos. Cytotoxic concentrations of asbestos then were added to both cell types in combination with the antioxidants, superoxide dismutase (SOD), a scavenger of superoxide (O2-.), and catalase, an enzyme scavenging H2O2. Dimethylthiourea (DMTU), a scavenger of the hydroxyl radical (OH.) and deferoxamine, an iron chelator, also were evaluated in similar studies. Results showed significant dosage-dependent reduction (P less than 0.001) of asbestos-associated cell death with all agents. In contrast, asbestos-induced toxicity was not ameliorated after addition of chemically inactivated SOD and catalase or bovine serum albumin. Results above suggest asbestos-induced cell damage is mediated by active oxygen species. In this regard, the iron associated with the fiber and/or its interaction with cell membranes might be critical in driving a modified Haber-Weiss (Fenton-type) reaction resulting in production of OH(.).

Human Brain Pericytes Differentially Regulate Expression of Procoagulant Enzyme Complexes Comprising the Extrinsic Pathway of Blood Coagulation

After vascular injury, pericytes may function in blood coagulation events that lead to thrombin formation due to their subendothelial location in the microvasculature. Pericytes from human cerebral cortex microvessels were isolated and characterized, and their ability to express and regulate procoagulant enzyme complexes was determined. Tissue factor was detected on the cell surface of cultured human brain pericytes by immunocytochemistry and was shown to form a functional complex with factor (F) VIIa to effect both FIX and FX activation. Treatment of pericytes with the calcium ionophore A23187 increased the observed tissue factor activity twofold to fivefold, which was shown to be due to an enhancement of cofactor activity and not the release of endogenous antigen stores. Pericytes also provided the appropriate membrane surface required for the assembly of a functional prothrombinase complex, so that in the presence of FVa and FXa, they effected thrombin formation 50 to 100 times faster than any other cell examined to date. In marked contrast to observations in other cell systems, pericyte expression of prothrombinase activity remained unaltered after treatment with A23187. As has been shown for platelets, the membrane receptor on pericytes for FXa assembly into the prothrombinase complex appears to at least partially consist of the FXa receptor effector cell protease receptor-1. These combined data indicate that pericytes can activate and propagate the coagulant response through the extrinsic pathway and that the activities of the required enzyme complexes can be differentially regulated in response to agonist stimulation. These observations support the concept that pericytes may play an important role in regulating coagulation events after cerebrovascular injury.

Human Vascular Endothelium Heterogeneity A Comparative Study of Cerebral and Peripheral Cultured Vascular Endothelial Cells

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hormones, neurotransmitters, and autacoids play a key role in the regulation of vascular tone as a result of their interaction with the endothelium. The aim of this study was to compare selected properties of three human endothelial cell lines isolated from cerebral pial arteries (PEC) and two peripheral vessels, the superficial temporal (SEC) and omental (OEC) arteries. METHODS Intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) and receptor protein expression were measured in characterized primary cultures of human endothelial cells. RESULTS All cell lines labeled positively for factor VIII/von Willebrand factor. Growth rate and constitutive release of endothelin-1, expressed as a function of protein, were both significantly lower in cerebral cells (PEC) than in endothelial cells derived from peripheral vessels. Basal [Ca2+]i measured with the fluorescent calcium indicator fura 2-AM (2 mumol/L) did not differ in either of the three cell lines. Although PEC responded to endothelin-1 (0.1 mumol/L) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (1 mumol/L) by a twofold to threefold increase in [Ca2+]i, OEC were unresponsive to these peptides. Moreover, the calcium response to alpha-thrombin (10 nmol/L) was greater in cerebral (PEC) than in peripheral (SEC, OEC) endothelial cells, while bradykinin (100 nmol/L) increased [Ca2+]i to a similar level in all three cell types. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that endothelial cells from different sites of the vasculature exhibit different growth rates and vary in their response to agonists.

α-Thrombin Stimulates Urokinase Production and DNA Synthesis in Cultured Human Cerebral Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Abstract α-Thrombin regulation of endothelial cell (EC) fibrinolysis has been documented by using endothelia derived from a number of anatomic locations but not with those derived from the human cerebral vasculature. In the present study, the fibrinolytic properties of human cerebral microvascular ECs and their regulation by α-thrombin are delineated and contrasted with those of human umbilical vein and foreskin microvascular ECs. In cerebral ECs, α-thrombin elicited a unique dose-dependent increase in urokinase production and DNA synthesis. Maximal stimulation, observed with 10 nmol/L α-thrombin, resulted in a 30- to 50-fold increase in urokinase production and a concomitant fourfold increase in DNA synthesis; the increase in urokinase was reflected in higher steady-state levels of urokinase mRNA. The major urokinase product secreted is the single-chain form of the enzyme. No effect was observed with the addition of other proteases or catalytically inactive variants of α-thrombin. A thrombin receptor agonist peptide upregulated urokinase production but had no effect on DNA synthesis, suggesting that fibrinolysis is mediated by the thrombin receptor but that proliferation is regulated by a different pathway. These findings suggest the possibility that the cerebral microvasculature may be a specialized region of the vascular system in which urokinase-type plasminogen activator, not tissue-type plasminogen activator, is the key catalyst of fibrin lysis when the brain responds to thrombotic events and that α-thrombin may regulate repair of the cerebral microvascular system.

Protein C Activation and Factor Va Inactivation on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

The inactivation of factor Va was examined on primary cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), either after addition of activated protein C (APC) or after addition of alpha-thrombin and protein C (PC) zymogen. Factor Va proteolysis was visualized by Western blot analysis using a monoclonal antibody (alpha HVaHC No. 17) to the factor Va heavy chain (HC), and cofactor activity was followed both in a clotting assay using factor V-deficient plasma and by quantitation of prothrombinase function. APC generation was monitored using the substrate 6-(D-VPR)amino-1-naphthalenebutylsulfonamide (D-VPR-ANSNHC4H9), which permits quantitation of APC at 10 pmol/L. Addition of APC (5 nmol/L) to an adherent HUVEC monolayer (3.5 x 10(5) cells per well) resulted in a 75% inactivation of factor Va (20 nmol/L) within 10 minutes, with complete loss of cofactor activity within 2 hours. Measurements of the rate of cleavage at Arg506 and Arg306 in the presence and absence of the HUVEC monolayer indicated that the APC-dependent cleavage of the factor Va HC at Arg506 was accelerated in the presence of HUVECs, while cleavage at Arg306 was dependent on the presence of the HUVEC surface. Factor Va inactivation proceeded with initial cleavage of the factor Va HC at Arg506, generating an M(r) 75,000 species. Further proteolysis at Arg306 generated an M(r) 30,000 product. When protein C (0.5 mumol/L), alpha-thrombin (1 nmol/L), and factor Va (20 nmol/L) were added to HUVECs an APC generation rate of 1.56 +/- 0.11 x 10(-14) mol/min per cell was observed. With APC generated in situ, cleavage at Arg506 on the HUVEC surface is followed by cleavage at Arg306, generating M(r) 75,000 and M(r) 30,000 fragments, respectively. In addition, the appearance of two novel products derived from the factor Va HC are observed when thrombin is present on the HUVEC surface: the HC is processed through limited thrombin proteolysis to generate an M(r) 97,000 fragment, which is further processed by APC to generate an M(r) 43,000 fragment. NH2-terminal sequence analysis of the M(r) 97,000 fragment revealed that the thrombin cleavage occurs in the COOH-terminus of the intact factor Va HC since both the intact HC as well as the M(r) 97,000 fragment have the same sequence. Our data demonstrate that the inactivation of factor Va on the HUVEC surface, initiated either by APC addition or PC activation, follows a mechanism whereby cleavage is observed first at Arg506 followed by a second cleavage at Arg306. The latter cleavage is dependent on the availability of the HUVEC surface. This mechanism of inactivation of factor Va is similar to that observed on synthetic phospholipid vesicles.

Approaches to prevention of asbestos-induced lung disease using polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated catalase.

Asbestos-associated damage to cells of the respiratory tract in vitro can be prevented by the simultaneous addition of scavengers of active oxygen species to cultures. To determine if administration of scavenger enzymes to animals and humans is a plausible approach to the prevention of asbestos-induced lung disease, osmotic pumps were filled with various concentrations of PEG-coupled catalase and implanted subcutaneously into Fischer 344 rats over a 28-day period. At 3, 14, and 28 days after implantation of the pumps, the animals were evaluated for levels of catalase in serum and lung. In addition, lung tissue and lavage fluids were examined at 28 days for biochemical and morphologic indications of cell injury, inflammation, and fibrotic lung disease. At all time points examined, the administration of PEG-catalase caused a dosage-dependent increase in serum levels of catalase. The levels of lung catalase were evaluated at 28 days but not at earlier time periods. In comparison to control rats, the amounts of enzymes (lactic dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase), protein, and cells in lavage fluids from treated animals were unaltered. Moreover, the lungs showed no evidence of inflammation or fibrotic disease as determined by differential cell counts in lavage and measurement of hydroxyproline. These studies suggest that administration of PEG-catalase does not cause injury or other alterations in lung tissue and can be pursued as a feasible approach to prevention of asbestosis.

Suppression of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Release From Human Cerebral Endothelium by Plasminogen Activators: A Factor Potentially Predisposing to Intracranial Bleeding

BACKGROUND Intracranial bleeding is the most catastrophic potential complication of treatment with thrombolytic agents. To identify potential factors that may contribute to this problem, we characterized elaboration by human brain endothelial cells of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and measured PAI-1 mRNA levels. METHODS AND RESULTS When human cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (HCMEC), pial arterial endothelial cells, and middle meningeal arterial endothelial cells were exposed to 10 to 1000 ng/mL recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (RTPA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (UPA), or streptokinase/ plasminogen (37 U streptokinase plus 2 mumol/L plasminogen) for 24 hours, they exhibited concentration-dependent decreases in elaboration of PAI-1 of 65 +/- 3%, 48 +/- 3%, and 59 +/- 8%. UPA and streptokinase/plasminogen elicited decreases of 33 +/- 8% and 35 +/- 4%, respectively, that were specific with respect to the protease agonists as to total protein synthesis and cell type; ie, neither human umbilical vein endothelial cells nor cerebral pericytes exhibited inhibition of PAI-1 elaboration. No decrease in HCMEC PAI-1 elaboration was induced by coagulation factor XB (10 nmol/L). A 2.7 +/- 0.5-fold increase was induced by alpha-thrombin (10 nmol/L). PAI-1 secretion from HCMEC decreased within 4 hours of exposure to 100 ng/mL RTPA. In HCMEC exposed to RTPA for 8 hours, PAI-1 mRNA decreased from 176 +/- 20 to 43 +/- 2.2 pg/microgram RNA. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that brain endothelial cells exposed to RTPA exhibit paradoxically diminished elaboration of PAI-1. This property may render brain vasculature vulnerable to attack by serine proteases, thereby predisposing to injury and initiating an underlying subsequent intracerebral hemorrhage in patients given plasminogen activators for treatment of coronary thrombosis.

Sublethal percussion trauma in vitro causes a persisting derangement in the nonthrombogenic properties of brain endothelial cells.

The delivery of a blow to the head represents a transfer of energy, part of which manifests itself as a short-lived pressure change within the skull. An in vitro model was developed to test whether cerebral endothelial cell hemostatic function is altered with exposure to this type of pressure event. Human cerebral microvascular endothelium (HCME) cells were subjected to rapid (2-5 msec) changes in pressure (delta atmosphere = 1.2-10), the sublethal range defined (delta atmosphere < or = 6.5), and the nonthrombogenic status of sublethally percussed HCME cells assessed using the adherence of alpha-thrombin activated platelets as an indicator. The HCME cells had lost their normal capacity to suppress adherence of activated platelets when evaluated 1 hour or 24 hours after percussion. Adherence of activated platelets to percussed HCME cells was blocked by the addition of PGI2, an inhibitor of platelet adherence, when evaluated at 1 hour but not 24 hours after percussion, indicating that percussed HCME cells were undergoing further derangement of their nonthrombogenic mechanisms. Percussed HCME cells cultured for 24 hours in medium containing scavengers of oxygen free radicals recovered their capacity to block platelet adherence. We conclude that sublethal percussion immediately compromises the nonthrombogenic character of HCME cells and initiates the development of a persisting prothrombotic state in HCME cells. This derangement appears linked to increased production of reactive oxygen species by percussed HCME cells.

Biochemical properties potentially rendering human brain microvasculature vulnerable to proteolytic injury associated with the use of fibrinolytic drugs.

BACKGROUND Determinants of predisposition to intracranial bleeding in response to the administration of thrombolytic drugs have not yet been well characterized. OBJECTIVE To delineate factors involved, by characterizing susceptibility of human cerebral microvascular endothelium (HCME) to injury associated with inflammatory cytokines, levels of which are typically elevated in blood in patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction or stroke and been treated with thrombolytic drugs. METHODS Elaboration of fibrinolytic system proteins by HCME exposed either to interleukin-1 beta or to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in serum-free medium for 24 h was characterized. Cell-conditioned medium was assayed for tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1--(PAI-1) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To determine whether the induction of u-PA was mediated by oxygen-centered radicals, the following were added to media: superoxide dismutase (a scavenger of O2-.), catalase (a scavenger of O2-. and H2O2) and dimethylthiourea (a scavenger of OH.). RESULTS Interleukin-1 beta had no effect upon elaboration of fibrinolytic system proteins by HCME. By contrast, TNF selectively increased elaboration of u-PA. Accumulation of t-PA and PAI-1 remained unchanged. Accumulation of u-PA was inhibited by cycloheximide, implying that there was a requirement for protein synthesis. Dimethylthiourea abolished the increase elaboration of u-PA induced by TNF completely, catalase did so partially, and SOD did not do so at all. CONCLUSION The propensity of HCME to elaborate u-PA rather than PAI-1 appears to render cerebral microvasculature particularly vulnerable to proteolytic attack in settings in which inflammatory cytokines are elaborated locally or in which their concentrations in blood are elevated.