title: Endothelial cell associated anti-elastolytic activity.
abstract: Addition of cultured and then carefully-washed bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (EC) decreased (p < 0.05) human neutrophil elastase activity (HNE) in vitro. HNE activity was also decreased (p < 0.05) by addition of histone or protamine treated EC. However, addition of papain or trypsin treated EC decreased HNE activity less than addition of untreated cells suggesting that a protein rather than a difference in cell surface charge was responsible. Other observations suggest that EC anti-elastolytic activity was not due to binding of antiprotease from culture media but was dependent on EC protein synthesis. First, addition of EC grown previously in serum-free media decreased HNE activity the same (p < 0.05) as addition of EC cultured in media containing serum. Second, addition of EC treated beforehand with cycloheximide decreased HNE activity less than (p < 0.05) addition of untreated control EC. We conclude that EC most likely make and have anti-elastolytic activity on their surfaces and speculate that EC associated anti-elastolytic activity may modulate inflammatory, repair and other biologic processes involving neutrophil elastase.
authors.affiliation: Webb-Waring Institute for Biomedical Research, Department of Medicine at Denver General Hospital, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Colorado 80262, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cheronis
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Repine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase