Sepsis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sepsis, including details on septicemia, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment.

Role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-gamma in mediating lung neutrophil sequestration and vascular injury induced by E. coli sepsis.

Ong E, Gao XP, Predescu D, Broman M, Malik AB

Dept. of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, The University of Illinois, 835 South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612-7343, USA.

We addressed the in vivo role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-gamma (PI3K-gamma) in signaling the sequestration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in lungs and in the mechanism of inflammatory lung vascular injury. We studied mice with deletion of the p110 catalytic subunit of PI3K-gamma (PI3K-gamma(-/-) mice). We measured lung tissue PMN sequestration, microvascular permeability, and edema formation after bacteremia induced by intraperitoneal Escherichia coli challenge. PMN infiltration into the lung interstitium in PI3K-gamma(-/-) mice as assessed morphometrically was increased 100% over that in control mice within 1 h after bacterial challenge. PI3K-gamma(-/-) mice also developed a greater increase in lung microvascular permeability after E. coli challenge, resulting in edema formation. The augmented lung tissue PMN sequestration in PI3K-gamma(-/-) mice was associated with increased expression of the PMN adhesive proteins CD47 and beta(3)-integrins. We observed increased association of CD47 and beta(3)-integrins with the extracellular matrix protein vitronectin in lungs of PI3K-gamma(-/-) mice after E. coli challenge. PMNs from these mice also showed increased beta(3)-integrin expression and augmented beta(3)-integrin-dependent PMN adhesion to vitronectin. These results point to a key role of PMN PI3K-gamma in negatively regulating CD47 and beta(3)-integrin expression in gram-negative sepsis. PI3K-gamma activation in PMNs induced by E. coli may modulate the extent of lung tissue PMN sequestration secondary to CD47 and beta(3)-integrin expression. Therefore, the level of PI3K-gamma activation may be an important determinant of PMN-dependent lung vascular injury.

Published 10 November 2005 in Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, 289(6): L1094-103.
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