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Exposure to zinc-laden particulate matter in ambient and occupational settings has been associated with proinflammatory responses in the lung. Cyclooxygenase 2-derived eicosanoids are important modulators of airway inflammation. In this study, we characterized the transcriptional and posttranscriptional events that regulate COX-2 expression in a human bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B exposed to Zn2+. Zn2+ exposure resulted in pronounced increases in COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, which were prevented by pretreatment with the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D, implying the involvement of transcriptional regulation. This was supported by the observation of increased COX-2 promoter activity in Zn2+-treated BEAS-2B cells. Mutation of the cAMP response element (CRE), but not the kappaB-binding sites in the COX-2 promoter markedly reduced COX-2 promoter activity induced by Zn2+. Inhibition of NFkappaB activation did not block Zn2+-induced COX-2 expression. Measurement of mRNA stability demonstrated that Zn2+ exposure impaired the degradation of COX-2 mRNA in BEAS-2B cells. This message stabilization effect of Zn2+ exposure was shown to be dependent on the integrity of the 3'-untranslated region found in the COX-2 transcript. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the CRE and mRNA stability regulates COX-2 expression induced in BEAS-2B cells exposed to extracellular Zn2+.

Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression is induced by physiological and inflammatory stimuli. Regulation of COX-2 expression is stimulus and cell type specific. Exposure to Zn2+ has been associated with activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways as well as the induction of COX-2 expression. This study aims to elucidate the role of intracellular signaling pathways in Zn2+-induced COX-2 expression in human bronchial epithelial cells. Inhibitors of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) potently block Zn2+-induced COX-2 mRNA and protein expression. Overexpression of adenoviral constructs encoding dominant-negative Akt kinase downstream of PI3K or wild-type phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10, an important PI3K phosphatase, suppresses COX-2 mRNA expression induced by Zn2+. Zn2+ exposure induces phosphorylation of the tyrosine kinases, including Src and EGF receptor (EGFR), and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Blockage of these kinases results in inhibition of Zn2+-induced Akt phosphorylation as well as COX-2 protein expression. Overexpression of dominant negative p38 constructs suppresses Zn2+-induced increase in COX-2 promoter activity. In contrast, the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and the extracellular signal-regulated kinases have minimal effect on Akt phosphorylation and COX-2 expression. Inhibition of p38, Src, and EGFR kinases with pharmacological inhibitors markedly reduces Akt phosphorylation induced by Zn2+. However, the PI3K inhibitors do not show inhibitory effects on p38, Src, and EGFR. These data suggest that p38 and EGFR kinase-mediated Akt activation is required for Zn2+-induced COX-2 expression and that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway plays a central role in this event.

The distribution of the major surfactant apoprotein (SP-A) in adult rat lung was determined in order to gain insight into its metabolism, including packaging of SP-A into lamellar bodies. The effect of glucocorticoid treatment on surfactant apoprotein was studied to test whether regulation of surfactant apoprotein genes, which has been described for the fetal lung, can be demonstrated in the adult animal. We measured the amounts of immunoreactive SP-A in several lung tissue compartments and lavage fractions from control animals and from the lungs of rats given dexamethasone for 1 wk. Protein and phospholipids were measured, SP-A was quantitated with a noncompetitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) and SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C mRNAs were estimated by Northern blotting. We found an 85-fold concentration of SP-A in a lamellar body-rich fraction compared with lung tissue homogenate and we calculated that as much as one-half of all the tissue SP-A might be accounted for by a lamellar body pool. After 1 wk of dexamethasone treatment, there was an increase in adult rat lung SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C mRNA and a substantial increase in tissue and lavage fluid immunoreactive SP-A pools. Lamellar body fraction SP-A content per lung was 1.4-fold higher after dexamethasone, and there was a fivefold increase in the lavage SP-A pool, much of which was inseparable from the alveolar macrophages. We conclude that SP-A is concentrated in the lamellar bodies of type II cells, that dexamethasone treatment increased all surfactant mRNAs, and that it increased SP-A content in adult rat lung.

Beta adrenergic agonists stimulate the secretion of lamellar bodies by lung alveolar type II cells. Most studies of such stimuli have been for short time periods; we wished to determine the effects of longer infusions of beta adrenergic agonists and antagonists upon biochemical and morphometric measures of type II cell surfactant pools. We implanted osmotic minipumps which infused 10 micrograms/kg/min of isoproterenol, 10 micrograms/kg/min of terbutaline or 0.2 microgram/kg/min of propranolol into the s.c. tissue of rats for 7 days. Saline-infused rats and untreated rats were studied concurrently. Seven days after pump implantation, we measured body, lung and heart weight and lamellar body and lavage disaturated phosphatidylcholine content. A group of rats with saline-, isoproterenol- or propranolol-filled osmotic minipumps had lungs fixed and processed for morphometric volume determination of type II cell organelles. Lung and body weights were unaffected by beta agonists and by propranolol, whereas heart weights were increased 14 to 47%. Lamellar body disaturated phosphatidylcholine was elevated 20 to 30% after 7 days of beta agonist infusion and was 20% lower after 7 days of propranolol, compared to saline infusion. Morphometric estimates of total lamellar body volume per lung showed a 22% increase after 7 days of isoproterenol and a 40% decrease after 7 days of propranolol. These changes were found to be due to an increase in lamellar body volume per cell after isoproterenol and a decrease in both lamellar body volume per cell and total number of type II cells per lung after propranolol infusion.