Stachybotrys chartarum is an important environmental fungus. We have shown recently that alveolar type II cells are sensitive to exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum spores and to the trichothecene, isosatratoxin-F, both in vitro and in vivo, in a juvenile mouse model. This sensitivity is manifest as significant changes in the composition and normal metabolic processing of pulmonary surfactant. This study evaluated the effects of a single intratracheal exposure of S. chartarum spores and toxin on ultrastructure and dimensions of alveolar type II cells from juvenile mice. This was to determine whether there are concurrent morphological and dimensional changes in the alveolar type II cell that reflect the metabolic alterations in pulmonary surfactant that we observed in the treated mice. Marked ultrastructural changes were associated with alveolar type II cells in both S. chartarum and isosatratoxin-F treated animals compared to untreated, saline, and Cladosporium cladosporioides spore treated animals. These ultrastructural changes included condensed mitochondria with separated cristae, scattered chromatin and poorly defined nucleolus, cytoplasmic rarefaction, and distended lamellar bodies with irregularly arranged lamellae. Point count stereological analysis revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in lamellar body volume density in S. chartarum and isosatratoxin-treated animals after 48 h exposure. Mitochondria volume density was significantly lower in the isosatratoxin-F (48 h exposure) and S. chartarum treated (24 and 48 h exposure) animals compared to those in the other treatment groups. These results reveal that exposure to S. chartarum spores and toxin elicit cellular responses in vivo differently from those associated with exposure to spores of a nontoxigenic mold species. They also indicate that accumulation of newly secreted pulmonary surfactant in the alveolar space of S. chartarum and isosatratoxin-F treated animals might be a consequence of cellular trauma resulting in lamellar body volume density changes leading to increased release of pulmonary surfactant into the alveolar space.

This study evaluated the effects of Stachybotrys chartarum conidia and a trichothecene, isosatratoxin-F, on choline incorporation into DSPC by fetal rabbit alveolar type II cells and on alveolar surfactant subtypes in mice. Exposure of fetal rabbit type II cells to S. chartarum conidia at concentrations of 10(3) to 10(6) conidia ml(-1) significantly depressed [3H] choline incorporation after 24 h of exposure. Exposure of the rabbit cells to 10(5) to 10(6) conidia ml(-1) also resulted in significantly depressed [3H] choline uptake after 48 h. Additionally, fetal rabbit alveolar type II cells exposed to isosatratoxin-F in concentrations ranging from 10(-9) to 10(-4) M showed a significant reduction in [3H] choline incorporation into DSPC. Alveolar surfactant phospholipid concentrations in the different metabolic subfractions of lung lavage fluid of mice intratracheally exposed to either 50 microl of 10(7) ml(-1) S. chartarum conidia or 50 microl 10(-7) M isosatratoxin-F showed some significant changes at 12, 24, 48, and 72 h post-exposure, compared to the surfactant subfractions of control mice which were either untreated, exposed to saline or to 50 microl of 10(-7) ml(-1) Cladosporium cladosporioides conidia. In both the S. chartarum- and the isosatratoxin-F-treated mice, exposure significantly increased P10, P100, and S100 phospholipid concentrations, while the P60 phospholipid concentrations were depressed. In contrast, C. cladosporioides-treated mice showed only one significant change in subfraction phospholipid concentration: P60 was depressed at 48 h post-exposure. These results reveal that alveolar type II cells are sensitive to exposure to S. chartarum conidia and to isosatratoxin F. Sensitivity is manifest by alterations in the normal metabolic processing of alveolar surfactant. In exposed mice, this effect appears to involve a significant increase in newly secreted surfactant and an accumulation of the used surfactant forms.

To characterize the properties of alveolar surfactant subfractions obtained from mouse lung by differential centrifugation, lavage fluid, following a preliminary centrifugation at 140 x g for 5 min to yield a cellular pellet (Pc), was sequentially centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 30 min, 60,000 x g for 60 min and 100,000 x g for 15 h; and the resultant pellets, respectively referred to as P10, P60 and P100, were harvested for electron microscopy, phospholipid analysis and surface tension measurements. Ultrastructural differences were observed, in that P10 contained large multilamellated structures which were typical of newly secreted surfactant, P100 contained small unilamellar vesicular structures, typical of catabolic end products of alveolar surfactant and P60 appeared to contain a mixture of structures present in P10 and P100 in addition to numerous, large unilamellar vesicles which were not present in either P10 or P100. Slight but significant differences were found in the phospholipid compositions of the three subfractions but not in the fatty acid composition of their phosphatidylcholine (PC) component. There were no significant differences in their disaturated PC/total PC ratios, but significant differences in their phospholipid/protein ratios. P60 had the highest proportion of phospholipid to protein. P10 and P60 demonstrated surface activity but P100 did not. Total alveolar surfactant phospholipid was evenly distributed among the three fractions. This pattern of distribution was significantly different from that observed in rabbit subfractions prepared by the same procedure. These data indicate that mouse alveolar surfactant consists of three distinct subfractions or subtypes which can be separately and quantitatively isolated by differential centrifugation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

No abstract

Conversion of heavy-aggregate alveolar surfactant (H) to a light-aggregate, nonsurface active form (L) is believed to involve the activity of an enzyme, namely, convertase. This conversion can be reproduced in vitro by the surface-area cycling technique. The purpose of the present study was to use this technique to investigate the developmental aspects of convertase activity in fetal, newborn, and adult rabbits. H was isolated from alveolar lavage from term [31-day gestation (31d)] fetal rabbit pups, 1-, 4-, and 7-day-old newborns, and adults, and the percent conversion to L was determined. To assess lamellar bodies (LB) as a potential source of activity in this species, these structures were isolated from lung tissue of 27-day-gestation (27d) and 31d fetuses, 1-, 4-, and 7-day-old newborns, and adults and were cycled the same as for H. LB contained considerable activity at each developmental stage i.e., approximately 82% of a 27d LB preparation converted to L after 3 h of cycling. In the adult, this value was 78%. Very little conversion of H was obtained from fetal lung (i.e., <20% of the 31d fetal preparation converted to L), but, by postnatal day 4, this value was greatly increased (i.e., >80% conversion) and stayed elevated to adulthood. The activity for each H and LB fraction was temperature and concentration dependent and diminished with storage at 4 degreesC. These data suggest the LB as the source of convertase activity in the rabbit and demonstrate dramatic developmental changes in this activity after release of the LB contents to the alveoli.