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[The effect of epithelium on inhibition of histamine-induced contraction of guinea-pig isolated trachea by potassium channel opener Rp 52891].

To evaluate whether the relaxant effect of Rp 52891 on isolated normal or sensitized guinea-pigs trachea is influenced by the removal of airway epithelium, twenty-four normal and sensitized guinea-pigs were randomly divided into two groups: epithelium-intact trachea and epithelium-denuded trachea. The effect of Rp 52891 on contraction elicited by histamine in epithelium-intact and epithelium-denuded trachea was investigated, and it was compared with that of aminophylline or isoprenaline. The results revealed that there was no significant difference in histamine-induced contractile response between normal and sensitized isolated trachea. The inhibitory effect of Rp 52891 on the contractile response of histamine was significantly reduced by removing the epithelium but that of aminophylline or isoprenaline was not changed. These results suggested that Rp 52891 may directly relax the airway smooth muscle of guinea-pigs in vitro, the epithelium of guinea-pigs trachea may modulate the relaxant effect of Rp 52891.

Aminophylline↗

Proliferation rate of rabbit corneal epithelium during overnight rigid contact lens wear.

PURPOSE: To examine cell proliferation of the normal corneal epithelium and during extended rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lens wear. METHODS: Twenty-three New Zealand White rabbits were fitted unilaterally with either a low oxygen transmissible (Dk/t) or hyper-Dk/t RGP lens, with the other eye serving as a control. The rabbits were injected with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) 24-hours later and killed at three time points: 1, 3, and 7 days after injection. Corneas were processed for immunocytochemistry, and sequential digital images were taken from the superior limbus to the central epithelium with an epifluorescence microscope. The total number of BrdU-labeled cell pairs was quantified. RESULTS: The limbus in normal corneas was significantly less populated with BrdU-labeled cells than the central and peripheral epithelium (P < 0.05). The peripheral epithelium adjacent to the limbus was marked by a peak of labeled cells (P < 0.05). Both types of RGP lenses produced an increase in BrdU labeling in the limbus and a dramatic decrease in the central epithelium (80% for low Dk/t, 37% for hyper Dk/t). At day 3 and 7 after BrdU injection, the low-Dk/t lens continued to show decreased BrdU labeling centrally, whereas the limbus remained increased. Hyper-Dk/t lens wear however, showed persistent limbal elevation but equivalent numbers of BrdU-labeled cells centrally at days 3 and 7, compared with control corneas. Keratocytes unexpectedly showed BrdU labeling during RGP lens wear. CONCLUSIONS: Limbus, peripheral, and central epithelium were characterized by different proliferation rates in the normal rabbit cornea. RGP lens wear significantly altered the homeostatic proliferation pattern of the epithelium with the low-Dk/t lens having the most dramatic effect. RGP contact lens wear appears to stimulate proliferation of keratocytes.

Animals↗

Derivation of type 1 epithelium from type 2 cells in the developing rat lung.

Renewal of squmous alveolar epithelium following injury probably occurs by division of type 2 cells with subsequent transformation to type 1 epithelium. The present morphologic and cytodynamic studies of developing rat lung provide further evidence that this mechanism reflects the normal process of cell renewal in the alveolar epithelium. From gestation days 18to 20, the epithelium was composed of glycogen-laden cuboidal cells which by day 20 contained lamellar bodies. In this period of high DNA synthesis in thelung, about 50 per cent of 'H-thymidine-labeled pulmonary cells were type 2, and mitoseswere frquently seen in these cells. On day 22, when many type 1 cells were first seen,over-all labeling was much reduced and was predominate in interstitial cells; type 2 labeling fell to about 10 percent. (he labeling index of type 1 cells, about 1 per cent atthis time, did not increase subsequently and mitotic figures were not seen in this celltype. Cells intermediate in formbetween type 2 and type 1 were observed after day 21, and, postnatally, the normal mixed population of epithelium cells lined the alveoli. The findings of maximal DNAsythesis and cell division when the alveoli were lined exclusively by type 2 cells, low labeling and the absence of mitotic figures in type 1 epithelium, and the observation of intermediate cell forms provide additional evidence that the type 2 cell is the progenitorof type 1 epithelium.

Animals↗

The study on the expression of keratin proteins in pterygial epithelium.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the expression patterns of several keratin proteins in pterygial epithelium. METHODS: The proteins of K8, K10, K14, K16 and AE3 in the epithelium of 8 pterygia and 4 normal conjunctiva were detected using immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS: In pterygial epithelium, the staining patterns of 5 keratin proteins were different with normal conjunctiva. No staining of K8, K10 and K16 was detected in normal conjunctival epithelium, but in pterygial epithelium, K8 and K16 were present in full thickness and K10 was present in superficial cells. In normal conjunctiva, only base layer of epithelium showed positive staining with antibody of K14 and AE3 proteins, but they were present in the full thickness in pterygial epithelium and the antibody of AE3 protein stained the superficial cells heavily comparing with base cells. CONCLUSION: The abnormal expression of keratin proteins (K8, K10, K14, K16 and AE3) in pterygia indicates that the epithelial cells in pterygia are in the state of hyperproliferation and keratinization, which may be the cause of the abnormal tear function in patients with pterygia.

Adult↗

The effect of phosphoramidon and epithelium removal on toluene diisocyanate-induced contractions in guinea-pig bronchi.

To evaluate the role of airway neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (NEP) and epithelium removal in the contraction of airway smooth muscle in response to toluene diisocyanate (TDI), we studied the effects of the NEP inhibitor, phosphoramidon, on TDI-induced contractions of guinea-pig bronchial rings with intact epithelium and without epithelium. In preparations with intact epithelium, phosphoramidon (10 microM) potentiated the contractile response to TDI (0.3 mM) (mean +/- SEM, 23.7 +/- 2.5% versus 67.9 +/- 10.3%, p less than 0.01). Phosphoramidon also increased TDI-induced contractions in tissues without epithelium (36.9 +/- 4.9% versus 52.5 +/- 7.1%, p less than 0.05). Removal of the epithelium increased the contractile response to TDI (23.7 +/- 2.5% versus 36.9 +/- 4.9%, p less than 0.05). These results demonstrate the response to TDI is increased in epithelium-free compared to intact bronchi and that NEP 24.11 modulates the effects of endogenously released tachykinins by TDI at all of the sites where NEP is found in the airways.

Animals↗

Retinoid status and the control of keratin expression and adhesion during the histogenesis of squamous metaplasia of tracheal epithelium.

We induced vitamin A depletion to define early and late changes during the histogenesis of squamous metaplasia of hamster tracheal epithelium. An early change is the "minimal morphological change" (MMC), in which the mucociliary epithelium is separated from the basement membrane by a continuous layer of basal cells. Immunohistochemistry showed an exclusive localization of the keratins K5 and K14 in basal cells of normal and MMC epithelia. At the MMC stage no staining was observed above the basal layer with antibodies to K5, but upon progression of the lesion to a squamous focus all cells from basal to terminally differentiated were positive for K5 and K14. In contrast, when we used antibodies to the keratins K6 or K13 all cells were negative in the normal epithelium and in the MMC epithelium. Successive layers of suprabasal squamous cells found in squamous metaplasia failed to express normal epidermal differentiation marker keratins K1 and K10 but expressed the proliferation marker keratin K6 and the internal stratified epithelium keratin K13, not normally found in the epidermis or in the trachea. Hamster tracheal epithelial cells could be maintained in culture in serum-free medium for at least 4 weeks in the presence of retinoic acid (RA). In non-RA-containing medium, cells from vitamin A-deficient hamsters showed markedly reduced growth and an increase in the expression of keratins K5, K6, K13, and K14. Since our previous work had implicated retinoids in the control of cell adhesiveness, we were interested to find out whether changes in cell adhesion occur in vitamin A-deficient hamster tracheal epithelial cells, compared to normal cells. Functional assays demonstrated that hamster tracheal epithelial cells, obtained from non-RA-treated tracheas or maintained in culture, displayed reduced attachment to laminin, compared to RA-treated cells. Immunofluorescence studies did not show a decrease either in the alpha 6 integrin subunit, which was localized in the basal aspect of basal cells, or in basement membrane laminin. However, the expression of laminin-binding protein 37 decreased as the epithelium changed from pseudostratified to stratified. Therefore, a coordinated pattern of changes in keratin gene expression, as well as in the expression of laminin-binding protein 37, the precursor to the cell surface laminin receptor 67LR, and in adhesive properties takes place in tracheal epithelium when its phenotype changes from mucociliary to the preneoplastic stage of squamous metaplasia.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Hyperplasia of mouse mammary epithelium induced by expression of the Wnt-1 (int-1) oncogene in reconstituted mammary gland.

We have expressed the Wnt-1 (formerly int-1) oncogene in Balb/c mouse mammary epithelium in vivo, using a tissue reconstitution method in which primary cultures of mammary epithelial cells are infected with a retrovirus vector and then transplanted into mouse mammary fat pads from which the natural epithelium has been removed. Transplants carrying the Wnt-1 gene grew in a hyperplastic pattern, the duct epithelium showing abundant fine side-branches, but without development of clusters of alveoli. The hyperplasias were similar, but not identical, to transplants of normal epithelium in a mid-pregnant host. Transplants of epithelium that expressed Wnt-1 into mammary fat pads of male or ovariectomized females grew to form a similar three-dimensional pattern, but the extent of growth, and so presumably the rate of growth, was slower than in intact females, and there were no terminal end buds at the edges of the outgrowths. Thus, although Wnt-1 may enhance growth of epithelium in the male or ovariectomized-female environment, it does not restore the major mode of growth in the intact female, the extension of major ducts from terminal end buds. Normal epithelium showed no change in morphology when in close proximity to hyperplasia induced by Wnt-1, confirming the limited range of diffusion of Wnt-1 protein in vivo. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that Wnt-1 acts principally by mimicking the signal that causes ducts to develop side-branches in pregnancy.

Animals↗

[Transplantation of bioengineered corneal epithelium for the treatment of total limbal stem cell deficiency in rabbit].

OBJECTIVE: To study the results of transplantation of cultured autologous limbal stem cells using fibrin gel membrane as substrate for the treatment of limbal stem cell deficiency in rabbits. METHODS: An ocular surface defect was created in the right eyes of all rabbits by a lamellar keratectomy extending 1 mm outside the limbus. The stem cells were isolated from a small limbal biopsy specimen from the left eyes and cultured. Cells were grown over fibrin gel membrane to construct bioengineered corneal epithelium. After cytologic verification of total limbal stem cell deficiency, rabbits were divided into 4 groups at random. The fibrovascular pannus of each cornea was removed. Groups I - III (n = 24) underwent transplantation of limbus stem cells cultured on fibrin gel membrane and were observed for 3 months (Group I), 1 month (Group II) and 2 weeks (Group III), whereas group IV (n = 8) received only the fibrin gel membrane. Clinical outcome was graded by corneal integrity, opacity and neovascularization. HE staining, impression cytology and immunofluorescence staining with antibodies against keratin-3, MUC5AC and nuclear p63 were performed to assess the phenotype of corneal epithelium. RESULTS: The cornea in the study groups (group I - III) recovered smoothly, covered with transparent epithelium and without neovascularization. In the control group (group IV), cornea was turbid and irregular, with neovascularization (P = 0.021). Corneal impression cytology indicated PAS (-) in the study groups, while PAS (+) in the control group. HE staining of the cornea in the study groups showed normal corneal phenotypes; whereas the epithelium cells in the control group showed conjunctival phenotypes with vessels and goblet cells. Immunostaining of study groups showed keratin-3 positive and MUC5AC negative corneal epithelium, and p63 was expressed in the basal cell of corneal epithelium. Cells in the control group expressed MUC5AC abundantly. CONCLUSIONS: Tissue bioengineered cornea epithelium transplantation can successfully reconstruct corneal surface affected by limbal stem cell deficiency. Fibrin gel membrane is a new bioengineered material with the characteristics of absorbability, transparence and good histological compatibility. It is supposed to be an optimum stem cell scaffold.

Animals↗

[Regeneration of the respiratory epithelium].

It is very important to clarify the mechanism of the regeneration of the respiratory epithelium in not only Oto-Naso-Laryngology but also in the field of chest medicine and surgery. Because of the experimental study carried out on dogs, involving the curing process of the tracheal anastomosis site, a scanning electron microscopic study showed that after two weeks, ciliated cells could be seen making a thin layer. It took nine weeks or more till the whole tracheal anastomosis site was completely covered by the ciliated epithelial cells. Having reviewed the experimental papers concerning the regeneration of the respiratory epithelium which have been published since 1953, a conclusion has been reached that after the injury of the respiratory mucosa, the existence of the basement membranes remains were covered by the migration of the traditional epithelium from the margin of the wound and four weeks later, the wound was covered by the normal epithelium. It has been stated up until now that the differentiation of the epithelium was covered from basement cells, but in fact, it seems to occur from the secretory cells. This has been demonstrated by the culture process of the respiratory epithelium. From these facts, the cultured respiratory epithelium cells are very important in elucidating carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

[Inhibition of airway smooth muscle contraction by airway epithelium in human bronchus].

To clarify the mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of epithelial cells on smooth muscle contraction, we studied two types of human bronchial tissue preparations: (1) "acceptor" bronchial strip without epithelium, (2) "donor" bronchial ring with or without epithelium. We measured the contractile responses of acceptor bronchial strip surrounded by donor bronchial ring to increasing concentrations of acetylcholine (ACh). Removal of the epithelium of the donor bronchial rings significantly enhanced the contractions of the acceptor bronchial strips. Thus, airway epithelium decreases the airway smooth muscle contraction to ACh in human bronchus. The mechanism of this inhibitory effect of airway epithelium was not due to a change in mechanical property of the airway, nor to a change in diffusion path for the chemical mediators. These results suggest that human airway epithelium may have an important role in modulating airway smooth muscle tone, possibly by the release of an epithelium-derived relaxing factor.

Acetylcholine↗

Inhibition of airway smooth muscle tone by a phorbol ester in the guinea pig trachea: role of epithelium and receptor reserve of the contractile agent.

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with asthma may be associated with a damaged or dysfunctional epithelium. Also, changes in the activities of protein kinase C have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. This study examined the role of protein kinase C in the modulation of airway smooth muscle tone and the influence of the epithelium on this function. Phorbol-12,13-diacetate (PDA) (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) induced concentration-dependent and epithelium-independent relaxations of guinea pig tracheal rings. PDA (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) induced significantly greater relaxations of tracheal rings contracted with 5-hydroxytryptamine (10(-5) M) than in tissues contracted to an equivalent degree with acetylcholine (10(-6) M). In experiments using phenoxybenzamine (10(-7) M and 10(-5) M), the dissociation constant (KA) for acetylcholine was significantly greater than that for 5-hydroxytryptamine. The fraction of active receptors (q) calculated for acetylcholine was significantly smaller than that calculated for an equieffective concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine. Relaxations to PDA in tissues contracted with acetylcholine (2 x 10(-6) M) or 5-hydroxytryptamine (10(-5) M) were significantly augmented by phenoxybenzamine (10(-5) M and 10(-7) M, respectively). PDA did not affect contractions to acetylcholine (10(-8) to 10(-3) M) in the presence of epithelium but caused a significant right-ward displacement of the acetylcholine concentration-contraction curve in the absence of epithelium. The concentration-contraction curves for 5-hydroxytryptamine (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) were significantly displaced to the right by PDA in the presence or absence of epithelium. This effect was greater in the absence of epithelium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylcholine↗

Muscarinic cholinergic and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors in the epithelium and muscularis of the human ileum.

The aim of this study was to characterize the binding and functional properties of muscarinic cholinergic (MCh) and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors in the human ileum to provide insight into pharmacologic strategies for managing urinary and fecal incontinence after bladder and rectal replacement with intestinal segments. MCh and alpha 2-adrenergic binding sites were characterized in the epithelium and muscularis of eight human ileal segments with 3H-N-methylscopolamine and 3H-rauwolscine, respectively. The dissociation constant for 3H-N-methylscopolamine in the epithelium and muscularis was 0.32 +/- 0.07 nmol/L and 0.45 +/- 0.10 nmol/L, respectively (p = 0.32). The MCh receptor content was approximately eightfold greater in the muscularis compared with the epithelium (p = 0.008). The dissociation constant for 3H-rauwolscine in the muscularis and epithelium was 2.55 +/- 0.42 nmol/L and 2.03 +/- 0.19 nmol/L, respectively (p = 0.29). The alpha 2-adrenoceptor density was twofold greater in the epithelium compared with the muscularis (p = 0.05). Noncumulative concentration-response experiments were performed with carbachol, an MCh agonist, and UK-14304, a selective alpha 2-adrenergic agonist. The epithelium did not contract in the presence of high concentrations of carbachol and UK-14304. The muscularis preparations were responsive only to carbachol. The muscularis contains primarily MCh receptors mediating smooth muscle contraction. The alpha 2-adrenoceptors are localized primarily to the epithelium and may regulate water secretion in the intestine. The distribution and functional properties of ileal MCh and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors provide a theoretic basis for the treatment of incontinence after bladder and rectal replacement with intestinal segments.

Epithelium↗

[The effect of bronchial epithelium on bronchial contractility].

Removal of the epithelium increases the sensitivity of mammalian airway smooth muscle to several bronchoactive agents. An epithelium derived relaxing factor (EpDRF) of unknown identity has been postulated to modulate smooth muscle tone in the airways. Rings or segments of porcine third order bronchi, from some of which the epithelium had been removed mechanically, were mounted in organ baths for isometric tension recording. Removal of the epithelium affected bronchial reactivity. Metacholine produced concentration-dependent contractions of porcine bronchi. In the absence of epithelium the concentration response curve was shifted to the left (p less than 0.01). The effect of epithelium removal was not inhibited by diclofenac (100 microM), propranolol (5 microM), the inhibitor of endothelium-derived relaxing factor gossypol (10 microM). These observations suggest that the epithelium of porcine bronchi relaxes the tone of the subjacent smooth muscle. The EpDRF probably responsible for this effect is neither a cyclooxygenase product nor a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase.

Airway Resistance↗

Differences in cellular glycoconjugates of quiescent, inflamed, and neoplastic colonic epithelium in colitis and cancer-prone tamarins.

In the preceding paper the authors demonstrated that the lectin staining patterns of normal colonic epithelium obtained from colitis and carcinoma-prone cotton top tamarins (CTTs), Saguinus oedipus, a New World primate, differs from colitis- and carcinoma-resistant primate species. In this study they determined the usefulness of cytochemical features in inflamed epithelium as indicators for malignant change. They compared the lectin staining pattern in inflamed mucosa and adjacent mucosa with colonic carcinoma from 8 CTTs with that of 9 clinically healthy CTTs with no histologic evidence of colitis. Deparaffinized sections were labeled with ten biotinylated lectins and stained by the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex method. Numerous significant differences were demonstrated in the lectin staining pattern between normal epithelium and colonic carcinoma; fewer between normal and chronic inflamed epithelium. However, between chronic inflamed epithelium and colonic carcinoma significant staining differences were observed with only two lectins, peanut agglutinin (PNA) and Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I). These findings suggest that there is a progression in alteration of lectin staining pattern from normal epithelium, via chronic colitis, to colonic carcinoma. Furthermore, the differences between chronic colitis and colonic carcinoma are expressed only with those lectins that are associated with malignant transformation of human colonic epithelium.

Animals↗

Comparison of limbal and peripheral human corneal epithelium in tissue culture.

Peripheral human corneal epithelium grows better in tissue culture than central epithelium, but it is not known whether ocular limbal epithelium grows even better than does the peripheral corneal epithelium. In this work we compared the growth kinetics of limbal and peripheral human corneal epithelial cells in tissue culture. Four 1-2 mm2 explants, removed from the limbus or from peripheral cornea (1-2 mm inside the limbus) of eye bank eyes, were grown to confluence in primary culture. Cells were then passaged at 2 X 10(5) cells per dish. At intervals thereafter, the cells were counted in a hemocytometer to determine plating efficiency and growth curves. Mitotic activity was determined 4 days after passaging by labeling cultures with 3H-thymidine and counting aliquots using the hemocytometer and scintillation counter. In the primary cultures, limbal epithelium grew as small, uniformly polygonal cells. Peripheral corneal cells grew to a variety sizes. The 24 hr plating efficiency and doubling time of limbal epithelial cells were 47 +/- 8% and 80 +/- 14 hr, respectively, while those of peripheral corneal cells were 41 +/- 10% (P less than 0.1) and 131 +/- 25 hr (P less than 0.001). The mitotic activity of limbal cells was significantly higher than that of peripheral (2.9 +/- 1.2 vs. 0.8 +/- 0.6) (P less than 0.01). These results indicate that human ocular limbal epithelium grows better in culture than does peripheral human corneal epithelium.

Adult↗

Conjunctival epithelium in healing of corneal epithelial wounds.

The mitotic rate and goblet cell content of conjunctival epithelium following total or central corneal epithelial removal using n-heptanol was measured to determine how the conjunctival epithelium responds to injury and whether conjuctiva responds to central corneal epithelial loss. One day following a wound that removed corneal, limbal, and 1-2 mm of bulbar conjunctival epithelium, the mitotic rate of the remaining conjunctival epithelium was ten times normal (P less than 0.001), proving that the conjunctiva responds to injury by cellular proliferation. At 1 and 2 days following a limited 10 mm diameter central corneal wound, the mitotic rate of peri-limbal conjunctival epithelium was three to four times normal (P less than 0.01), and even following a 5 mm diameter central wound, it was three to four times normal on day 1 (P less than 0.05). Goblet cell frequency was a less reliable indicator of conjunctival response to corneal injury: it was decreased following the largest and smallest wounds but not affected by the 10 mm diameter wound. These studies demonstrate that conjunctival epithelium peripheral to the cornea is affected by small central corneal wounds, and may therefore play a role in corneal epithelium healing.

Animals↗

The influence of the epithelium on palate shelf reorientation.

The intrinsic forces necessary for directing the reorientation of the secondary palate appear to reside in the anterior two thirds of the palate or presumptive hard palate. The hard palate could reorient regardless of whether it was intact or separated from the posterior third or presumptive soft palate. The soft palate could only reorient if the palate shelves are left intact. These intrinsic forces, within the hard palate, may be mediated by the mesenchymal cells, their extracellular matrix, or the epithelium surrounding the shelves. This latter possibly was tested by removing the epithelium, from either the presumptive oral or nasal surface followed by measurement of reorientation in vitro. Only after removal of the oral epithelium was a significant inhibition in reorientation observed. The treatment used to remove the epithelium, EDTA and scraping, was shown to remove 41% of the oral epithelium leaving the majority of the basement membrane intact. The observed inhibition of reorientation did not appear to be a consequence of wound healing. Creation of wounds twice the area that was observed after treatment with EDTA and scraping inhibited reorientation minimally. These results suggest that the epithelium and particularly the anterior oral epithelium plays a major role in the reorientation of the murine secondary palate.

Animals↗

A mechanism of association of lactobacilli with the rat stomach epithelium.

The stomach wall of the rat is colonised by a dominant lactobacilli flora. The bacteria are localised mainly on the squamous epithelium (Table 1). They adhere tightly, covering the whole surface of the squamous epithelium (Fig. 1). On the secreting epithelium yeasts and bacteria were found only in connection with mucus (Fig. 2). In the present paper a mechanism of adhesion will be discussed. Piliform appendages (PA) were investigated with the aid of electron microscopy between the bacteria and the top cell layer of the epithelium and between the bacterial cells themselves (Fig. 3 and 4). They contain, following indications with scanning and transmission electron microscopy, material from the thin capsulae of acidic mucopolysaccharides, reported by Savage. Lactobacilli isolated from the squamous epithelium and cultivated in vitro are connected by the same piliform appendages. It seems, that the piliform appendages have an affinity to special receptor sites of the bacterial cell wall and also of the gastric epithelium. Lactobacilli situated on the secreting epithelium show piliform appendages, too, but they don't have a tight connection with the epithelial cells, only with the mucus.

Adhesiveness↗