Sodium absorption by an amiloride-sensitive channel is the main driving force of lung liquid clearance at birth and lung edema clearance in adulthood. In this study, we tested whether tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a proinflammatory cytokine involved in several lung pathologies, could modulate sodium absorption in cultured alveolar epithelial cells. We found that TNF-α decreased the expression of the α-, β-, and γ-subunits of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) mRNA to 36, 43, and 16% of the controls after 24-h treatment and reduced to 50% the amount of α-ENaC protein in these cells. There was no impact, however, on α1and β1Na+-K+-ATPase mRNA expression. Amiloride-sensitive current and ouabain-sensitive Rb+uptake were reduced, respectively, to 28 and 39% of the controls. A strong correlation was found at different TNF-α concentrations between the decrease of amiloride-sensitive current and α-ENaC mRNA expression. All these data show that TNF-α, a proinflammatory cytokine present during lung infection, has a profound influence on the capacity of alveolar epithelial cells to transport sodium.

Although COPD and asthma share common markers of systemic inflammation, serum levels of TGF-beta1 and alpha1-AT may reflect differences between the diseases.

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