Important note: Information in this article was accurate in May 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, May 1, 2000
Prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports
PCP was induced by inoculating C.B-17 scid/scid mice intratracheally with the pneumococcal organism. Following inoculation (n=6 weeks), investigators, led by A.E. Atochina, collected lavage fluids from the bronchioles and alveoli of the animals' lungs. Large aggregate (LA) and small aggregate (SA) surfactant fractions were analyzed and quantitated.
Compared to uninfected mice, "Total phospholipid content was significantly reduced in LA surfactant fractions from mice infected with PCP (53 ± 15% of uninfected mice; P<0.05)," Atochina and colleagues said ("P. carinii induces selective alterations in component expression and biophysical activity of lung surfactant," Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2000 Mar;278(3):L599-609.
Alveolar surfactant proteins (SP) were also quantified. SP-B and SP-C levels were less in the PCP mice as compared with the uninfected mice, data showed.
Atochina's group determined that decreased levels of phospholipids and surfactant proteins correlated with increased minimum surface tension of LAs. Additional analysis demonstrated that SP-A levels remained basically the same in the LA fraction and SP-D increased in the SA fraction, they said.
"In all cases, the changes in SP content were reflected by commensurate changes in the levels of mRNA," reported Atochina et al.
"We conclude that PCP induces selective alterations in surfactant component expression: including profound decreases in hydrophobic protein contents and resultant increases in surface tension."
Furthermore, Atochina et al. said, "These changes, demonstrated in an immunologically relevant animal model, suggest that alterations in surfactant could contribute to the hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency observed in PCP."
To see 125 additional articles about Pneumocystis carinii, visit www.NewsRx.com.
The corresponding author for this study is M.F. Beers, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, 807 BRB II-III Bldg., 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Key points reported in this study are:
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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