title: Acute morphological and toxicological effects in a human bronchial coculture model after sulfur mustard exposure.
abstract: Sulfur mustard (SM) is a strong alkylating agent. Inhalation of SM causes acute lung injury accompanied by severe disruption of the airway barrier. In our study, we tested the acute effects after mustard exposure in an in vitro coculture bronchial model of the proximal barrier. To achieve this, we seeded normal human bronchial epithelial explant-outgrowth cells (HBEC) together with lung fibroblasts as a bilayer on filter plates and exposed the bronchial model after 31 days of differentiation to various concentrations of SM (30, 100, 300, and 500 microM). The HBEC formed confluent layers, expressing functional tight junctions as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance (TER). Mucus production and cilia formation reappeared in the coculture model. TER was measured after 2 and 24 h following treatment. Depending on the different concentrations, TER decreased in the first 2 h up to 55% of the control at the highest concentration. After 24 h, TER seemed to recover because at concentrations up to 300 microM values were equal to the control. SM induced a widening of intercellular spaces and a loss in cell-matrix adhesion. Mucus production increased with the result that cilia ceased to beat. Changes in the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 were also observed. Apoptotic markers such as cytochrome c, p53, Fas-associated protein with death domain, and procaspase-3 were significantly induced at concentrations of less than 100 microM. In summary, SM induces morphological and biochemical changes that reflect pathological effects of SM injury in vivo. It is hoped to use this coculture model to understand further the pathogenesis of SM-induced barrier injury and to search for novel approaches in SM therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. pohlc@uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Papritz
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moisch
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wübbeke
authors.forename: M Iris
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hermanns
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Uboldi
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dei-Anang
authors.forename: Eckhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Charles James
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kehe
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001980:Bronchi / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D009151:Mustard Gas