title: Transgenic mice expressing rabbit C-reactive protein exhibit diminished chemotactic factor-induced alveolitis.
abstract: The acute phase protein, C-reactive protein (CRP), can increase more than a thousandfold during acute inflammatory states, and it is known to modulate neutrophil-mediated inflammatory responses. We have previously shown that CRP inhibits chemotaxis of C5a-stimulated neutrophils in vitro and that rabbits with elevated CRP blood levels exhibit diminished pulmonary vascular permeability and neutrophil infiltration in a model of alveolitis. To study the effect of CRP on alveolitis induced by different chemoattractants, transgenic mice capable of expressing rabbit CRP in a dietary-inducible fashion were treated with inflammatory doses of the chemoattractants. Intratracheal installation of FMLP (8 x 10(-10) mol), LTB4 (2 x 10(-11) mol), or IL-8 (5 x 10(-12) mol) in normal CF1 mice resulted in significant (p<0.05) influx of neutrophils and protein into the alveolar space. Transgenic mice with elevated plasma levels of CRP showed significantly (p<0.05) diminished infiltration of neutrophils into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and significant reduction in BALF protein compared with that in normal mice. Rabbit CRP (10 to 500 micrograms/ml) inhibited in vitro neutrophil chemotaxis in a concentration-dependent fashion when stimulated by the various chemoattractants examined. These data show that rabbit CRP can modify both in vivo and in vitro neutrophil responses to several classes of chemoattractants and that CRP has a significant protective effect in alveolitis by reducing neutrophil influx and protein leakage into the lung.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, St. Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thorley
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Samols
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000276:immunology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000276:immunology; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000276:immunology*; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D015936:Complement C5a / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000494:pharmacology; D007975:Leukotriene B4 / Q000494:pharmacology; D008168:Lung / Q000098:blood supply; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009240:N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D016209:Interleukin-8; D011506:Proteins; D007975:Leukotriene B4; D009240:N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine; D015936:Complement C5a; D002097:C-Reactive Protein