The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cigarette smoke extract on endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent dilatation of arterioles in vivo. Using intravital microscopy, we measured diameter of arterioles contained within the microcirculation of the hamster cheek pouch during suffusion with acetylcholine and nitroglycerin, before and after treatment with cigarette smoke extract. Under control conditions, acetylcholine and nitroglycerin produced dose-related dilatation of cheek pouch arterioles. Superfusion of cigarette smoke extract (1.0%) did not alter baseline diameter of arterioles or vasodilatation in response to nitroglycerin but impaired dilatation of arterioles in response to acetylcholine. Next, we examined the possibility that impaired dilatation of cheek pouch arterioles in response to acetylcholine after exposure to cigarette smoke extract may be related to the release of substances produced via the cyclooxygenase pathway. In indomethacin-pretreated hamsters, acetylcholine produced similar vasodilatation before and after exposure to cigarette smoke extract. Thus these findings suggest that cigarette smoke extract impairs endothelium-dependent responses of cheek pouch arterioles. The mechanism of impaired responses of cheek pouch arterioles after exposure to cigarette smoke extract appears to be related to the release of substances produced via the cyclooxygenase pathway.

The purpose of this study was to determine the receptor subtype(s) that mediates tachykinin-induced neurogenic plasma extravasation in the hamster cheek pouch. Changes in microvascular clearance were quantified by counting the number of leaky sites and calculating the clearance of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran [mol wt 70,000 (Dextran 70)] during suffusion of the cheek pouch with substance P, neurokinin A, neurokinin B, and capsaicin. Suffusion of substance P, capsaicin, and neurokinin A, but not neurokinin B, was associated with a significant concentration-dependent increase in leaky site formation and clearance of fluorescein isothiocyanate-Dextran 70 (P < 0.05). However, the responses to substance P and capsaicin were significantly greater than those to neurokinin A. Pretreatment with the selective, nonpeptide NK1 receptor antagonist, CP-96,345, significantly attenuated substance P- and capsaicin-induced but not neurokinin A-induced responses (P < 0.05). These effects were specific, since the 2R,3R enantiomer, CP-96,344, was inactive, and CP-96,345 had no significant effect on adenosine-induced responses. We conclude that, in the hamster cheek pouch, NK1 receptors are the predominant receptors that mediate neurogenic plasma extravasation.

Pretreatment of cultured human tracheal smooth muscle cells with transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) decreased adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation by intact cells stimulated with the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol. The maximal inhibition of isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP accumulation by TGF-beta 1 was 31 +/- 3%, and the mean effective concentration (EC50) of TGF-beta 1 was approximately 1.5 pM. TGF-beta 1 decreased the maximal response to isoproterenol but did not change the EC50 value of isoproterenol. TGF-beta 1 did not change cAMP accumulation stimulated by forskolin. TGF-beta 1 pretreatment decreased isoproterenol-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity measured in broken cell preparations, but did not change the fluoride-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity. Together these results suggest that the TGF-beta 1 effect is not by direct inhibition of adenylyl cyclase or by decreased activity of the stimulatory GTP-binding protein. Saturation binding experiments with the beta-adrenergic receptor radioligand [125I]iodopindolol showed that TGF-beta 1 pretreatment decreased the beta-adrenergic receptor number. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide abolished the effect of TGF-beta 1 on both cAMP accumulation and on beta-adrenergic receptor number, indicating that protein synthesis is involved. These results suggest that TGF-beta 1 in the lung could play a role in changing the responsiveness of airway smooth muscle cells to endogenous catecholamines and to beta-adrenergic agonists used in therapy.

The study of alveolar macrophages (AM) from smokers by flow cytometry (FCM) has been limited by strong autofluorescence and the lack of reliable markers to identify macrophages. Crystal violet quenching was reported to be effective in reducing autofluorescence of AM. CD68 is a marker for macrophages in immunohistochemistry, but has been less useful in FCM because of poor surface expression. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a method for two-colour FCM analysis of AM combined with membrane permeabilization and crystal violet quenching.Bronchoalveolar lavage cells, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and permeabilized using 0.5% Triton X100, were incubated with fluorescent-labelled antibodies for 30 min and quenched with a saturated crystal violet solution. Two-colour FCM was then performed using forward/side scatter gating to select AM.Autofluorescence at 525 nm (fluorescein isothiocyanate) and 575 nm (phycoerythrin) markedly decreased after quenching. After permeabilization, 97.1 2.8% of the gated cells were CD68+, while 53.9 18.6% of the AM were positive without permeabilization. CD68+ cells were sorted and proved to be AM morphologically. Analysis of CD71 (transferrin receptor) expression by FCM correlated with immunocytochemistry (r=0.77, p<0.05).The permeabilization/quenching technique, therefore, represents a satisfactory means to evaluate alveolar macrophages by flow cytometry. Eur Respir J 1999; 13: 894±899.