title: Injury of rat pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells by H2O2: dependence on phenotype and catalase.
abstract: In a variety of inflammatory lung diseases, type I alveolar epithelial cells are more likely to be injured than are type II cells. Because oxidants have been implicated as a cause of injury in various inflammatory lung diseases, we evaluated the effects of differentiation on alveolar epithelial cell susceptibility to H2O2-induced injury. With the use of isolated rat type II cells in culture, we found that the cytotoxic effect of H2O2 increased between days 2 and 7, when type II cells are known to lose their distinctive type II properties and assume a more type I-like appearance. We previously reported that type II cells utilized both intracellular catalase and glutathione-dependent reactions to protect against H2O2. We therefore examined whether alterations in either of these protective mechanisms were responsible for the differentiation-dependent changes in sensitivity to H2O2. We found that catalase activity within alveolar epithelial cells decreased between 2 and 7 days in culture, whereas no changes were detected in glutathione-dependent systems. We then used a histochemical technique that detects catalase activity and found that type II cells within rat lungs possessed numerous catalase-containing peroxisomes, whereas very few were detected in type I cells. These findings demonstrate that as type II cells assume a type I-like phenotype, they become more susceptible to H2O2-induced injury. This increased susceptibility is associated with reductions in intracellular catalase activity, both in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Reza
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Kunkel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010641:Phenotype; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase; D002374:Catalase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D005978:Glutathione