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Oxidant insults can lead to apoptotic and nonapoptotic cell death. Lung epithelial cells exposed to high levels of oxygen do not die via apoptosis, but through a much slower, morphologically distinct process involving cell and nuclear swelling. In contrast, H2O2 induces a rapid apoptotic cell death. We first assessed the effect of oxidant exposure on activator protein-1 (c-Jun and Fos) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) regulation in MLE12 cells. Both oxidants induced c-Jun and Fos expression, albeit with a different pattern of regulation-hyperoxia (95% O2) induced a biphasic response, whereas H2O2 (500 microM) induced a sustained response. We then examined the role of JNK by Western blot, JNK activity assay, and a pull-down assay and observed an identical pattern of regulation. To assess whether JNK functions in a pro-death or pro-survival capacity, we generated stable cell lines that constitutively express a dominant-negative mutation of JNK resulting in significant inhibition of JNK activity. Inhibition of the JNK pathway in this manner prevented hyperoxic and H2O2-induced cell death. These results demonstrate that hyperoxic cell death is pathway-driven and that both modes of death involve the JNK signaling pathway.

To determine whether overexpression of antioxidant enzymes in lung epithelial cells prevents damage from oxidant injury, stable cell lines were generated with complementary DNAs encoding manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and/or catalase (CAT). Cell lines overexpressing MnSOD, CAT, or MnSOD + CAT were assessed for tolerance to hyperoxia or paraquat. After exposure to 95% O(2) for 10 d, 44 to 57% of cells overexpressing both MnSOD and CAT and 37 to 47% of cells overexpressing MnSOD alone were viable compared with 7 to 12% of empty vector or parental cells (P < 0.05). To assess if viable cells were capable of cell division after hyperoxic exposures (up to 5 d), a clonogenicity assay was performed. The clonogenic potential of cells overexpressing MnSOD + CAT and MnSOD alone were significantly better than those expressing CAT alone or empty vector controls. In addition, 54 to 72% of cells overexpressing both MnSOD and CAT survived in 1 mM paraquat compared with 58 to 73% with MnSOD alone and 27% with control cells. Overexpression of CAT alone did not improve survival in hyperoxia or paraquat. The combination of MnSOD + CAT did not provide additional protection from paraquat. Data demonstrate that overexpression of MnSOD protects cells from oxidant injury and CAT offers additional protection from hyperoxic injury when co-expressed with MnSOD.