Despite decades of research, the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains poorly understood, thus impeding the development of effective treatment. Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) and lung epithelial cell death are prominent features of ARDS. Lung epithelial cells are the first line of defense after inhaled stimuli, such as in the case of hyperoxia. We hypothesized that lung epithelial cells release ‘messenger' or signaling molecules to adjacent or distant macrophages, thereby initiating or propagating inflammatory responses after noxious insult. We found that, after hyperoxia, a large amount of extracellular vesicles (EVs) were generated and released into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). These hyperoxia-induced EVs were mainly derived from live lung epithelial cells as the result of hyperoxia-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. These EVs were remarkably different from epithelial ‘apoptotic bodies', as reflected by the significantly smaller size and differentially expressed protein markers. These EVs fall mainly in the size range of the exosomes and smaller microvesicles (MVs) (50–120 nm). The commonly featured protein markers of apoptotic bodies were not found in these EVs. Treating alveolar macrophages with hyperoxia-induced, epithelial cell-derived EVs led to an increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2). Robustly increased macrophage and neutrophil influx was found in the lung tissue of the mice intranasally treated with hyperoxia-induced EVs. It was determined that EV-encapsulated caspase-3 was largely responsible for the alveolar macrophage activation via the ROCK1 pathway. Caspase-3-deficient EVs induced less cytokine/MIP-2 release, reduced cell counts in BALF, less neutrophil infiltration and less inflammation in lung parenchyma, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the serum circulating EVs were increased and mainly derived from lung epithelial cells after hyperoxia exposure. These circulating EVs also activated systemic macrophages other than the alveolar ones. Collectively, the results show that hyperoxia-induced, lung epithelial cell-derived and caspase-3 enriched EVs activate macrophages and mediate the inflammatory lung responses involved in lung injury.

Bacterial infection and its associated sepsis are devastating clinical entities which lead to high mortality and morbidity in critically ill patients. Phagocytosis, along with other innate immune responses, exerts crucial impacts on the outcomes of these patients. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of regulatory noncoding RNAs targeting specific mRNAs for modulation of translation and expression of a targeted protein. The roles of miRNAs in host defense against bacterial sepsis remain unclear. We found that bacterial infections and/or bacterial-derived LPS enhanced the level of miR-15a/16 in bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs). Deletion of miR-15a/16 (miR-15a/16-/-) in myeloid cells significantly decreased the bacterial infection associated mortality in sepsis mouse models. Moreover, miR-15a/16 deficiency (miR-15a/16-/-) resulted in augmented phagocytosis and generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in BMDMs. Supportively, over-expression of miR-15a/16 using miRNA mimics led to decreased phagocytosis and decreased generation of mitochondrial ROS. Mechanistically, deletion of miR-15a/16 up-regulated the expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) via targeting the principle transcriptional regulator PU.1 locating on the promoter region of TLR4, and further modulated TLR4's downstream signaling molecules, including Rho GTPase Cdc 42 and TRAF6. Additionally, deficiency of miR-15a/16 also facilitated TLR4-mediated pro-inflammatory cytokine/chemokine release from BMDMs at the initial phase of infections. Taken together, miR-15a/16 altered phagocytosis and bacterial clearance by targeting, at least partially, on the TLR4-associated pathways, subsequently affecting the survival of septic mice.

Enhancement of the synthesis of endogenous n-3 PUFAs from n-6 PUFAs can delay the incidence of OA, probably through inhibition of mTORC1, promotion of autophagy and cell survival in cartilage chondrocytes. Future investigation into the role of the endogenous n-6/n-3 PUFAs composition in OA prevention and treatment is warranted.