Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung injury characterized by impaired alveologenesis that may persist into adulthood. Rat models of BPD using varying degrees of hyperoxia to produce injury either cause early mortality or spontaneously recover following removal of the inciting stimulus, thus limiting clinical relevance. We sought to refine an established rat model induced by exposure to 60% O from birth by following hyperoxia with intermittent hypoxia (IH). Rats exposed from birth to air or 60% O until day 14 were recovered in air with or without IH (FI = 0.10 for 10 min every 6 h) until day 28 Animals exposed to 60% O and recovered in air had no evidence of abnormal lung morphology on day 28 or at 10-12 wk. In contrast, 60% O-exposed animals recovered in IH had persistently increased mean chord length, more dysmorphic septal crests, and fewer peripheral arteries. Recovery in IH also increased pulmonary vascular resistance, Fulton index, and arterial wall thickness. IH-mediated abnormalities in lung structure (but not pulmonary hypertension) persisted when reexamined at 10-12 wk, accompanied by increased pulmonary vascular reactivity and decreased exercise tolerance. Increased mean chord length secondary to IH was prevented by treatment with a peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst [5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)-21H,23H-porphyrin iron (III) chloride, 30 mg/kg/day, days 14-28], an effect accompanied by fewer inflammatory cells. We conclude that IH during recovery from hyperoxia-induced injury prevents recovery of alveologenesis and leads to changes in lung and pulmonary vascular function lasting into adulthood, thus more closely mimicking contemporary BPD.

Chronic neonatal pulmonary hypertension (PHT) frequently results in early death. Systemically administered Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitors prevent and reverse chronic PHT in neonatal rats, but at the cost of severe adverse effects, including systemic hypotension and growth restriction. Simvastatin has pleiotropic inhibitory effects on isoprenoid intermediates that may limit activity of RhoA, which signals upstream of ROCK. We therefore hypothesized that statin treatment would safely limit pulmonary vascular RhoA activity and prevent and reverse experimental chronic neonatal PHT via downstream inhibitory effects on pathological ROCK activity. Sprague-Dawley rats in normoxia (room air) or moderate normobaric hypoxia (13% O) received simvastatin (2 mg·kg·day ip) or vehicle from postnatal days 1-14 (prevention protocol) or from days 14-21 (rescue protocol). Chronic hypoxia increased RhoA and ROCK activity in lung tissue. Simvastatin reduced lung content of the isoprenoid intermediate farnesyl pyrophosphate and decreased RhoA/ROCK signaling in the hypoxia-exposed lung. Preventive or rescue treatment of chronic hypoxia-exposed animals with simvastatin decreased pulmonary vascular resistance, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary arterial remodeling. Preventive simvastatin treatment improved weight gain, did not lower systemic blood pressure, and did not cause apparent toxic effects on skeletal muscle, liver or brain. Rescue therapy with simvastatin improved exercise capacity. We conclude that simvastatin limits RhoA/ROCK activity in the chronic hypoxia-exposed lung, thus preventing or ameliorating hemodynamic and structural markers of chronic PHT and improving long-term outcome, without causing adverse effects.

Ee MT, Kantores C, Ivanovska J, Wong MJ, Jain A, Jankov RP. Leukotriene B4 mediates macrophage influx and pulmonary hypertension in bleomycin-induced chronic neonatal lung injury. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 311: L292-L302, 2016. First published June 17, 2016 doi:10.1152/ajplung.00120.2016.-Systemically-administered bleomycin causes inflammation, arrested lung growth, and pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in the neonatal rat, similar to human infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Leukotrienes (LTs) are inflammatory lipid mediators produced by multiple cell types in the lung. The major LTs, LTB4 and cysteinyl LTs, are suggested to contribute to BPD, but their specific roles remain largely unexplored in experimental models. We hypothesized that LTs are increased in bleomycin-induced BPD-like injury, and that inhibition of LT production would prevent inflammatory cell influx and thereby ameliorate lung injury. Rat pups were exposed to bleomycin (1 mg·kg Ϫ1 ·day Ϫ1 ip) or vehicle (control) from postnatal days 1-14 and were treated with either zileuton (5-lipoxygenase inhibitor), montelukast (cysteinyl LT1 receptor antagonist), or SC57461A (LTA4 hydrolase inhibitor) 10 mg·kg Ϫ1 ·day Ϫ1 ip. Bleomycin led to increased lung content of LTB4, but not cysteinyl LTs. Bleomycininduced increases in tissue neutrophils and macrophages and lung contents of LTB4 and tumor necrosis factor-␣ were all prevented by treatment with zileuton. Treatment with zileuton or SC57461A also prevented the hemodynamic and structural markers of chronic PHT, including raised pulmonary vascular resistance, increased Fulton index, and arterial wall remodeling. However, neither treatment prevented impaired alveolarization or vascular hypoplasia secondary to bleomycin. Treatment with montelukast had no effect on macrophage influx, PHT, or on abnormal lung structure. We conclude that LTB4 plays a crucial role in lung inflammation and PHT in experimental BPD. Agents targeting LTB4 or LTB4-mediated signaling may have utility in infants at risk of developing BPD-associated PHT. rat; newborn; inflammation; lung injury THE SURVIVAL OF EXTREMELY low-birth-weight infants has improved over recent decades, but at the cost of a high risk of developing chronic lung injury, known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (3). Chronic pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is common in infants with severe BPD, heralding a greatly increased morbidity and mortality (11,31,34,47). The pathogenesis of BPD is multifactorial, with upregulation of inflammatory mediators leading to, or caused by, infiltration of inflammatory cells playing a major role (38,43,46). However, the specific mediators contributing to inflammatory neonatal lung injury remain unclear, and there are presently no effective treatments.Leukotrienes (LTs) are potent lipid mediators, first described in 1979 by Borgeat and Samuelsson (5) as a new lineage of arachidonic acid-derived metabolites. LTs are produced by, recruit, and activate immune cells, thus initiating, augmenting, and sustaining tissue in...