Enhanced protein tyrosine phosphorylation is associated with changes in vascular permeability through formation and dissolution of adherens junctions and regulation of stress fiber formation. Inhibition of the protein tyrosine phosphorylase SH2 domaincontaining protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) increases tyrosine phosphorylation of vascular endothelial cadherin and b-catenin, resulting in disruption of the endothelial monolayer and edema formation in the pulmonary endothelium. Vascular permeability is a hallmark of acute lung injury (ALI); thus, enhanced SHP2 activity offers potential therapeutic value for the pulmonary vasculature in diseases such as ALI, but this has not been characterized. To assess whether SHP2 activity mediates protection against edema in the endothelium, we assessed the effect of molecular activation of SHP2 on lung endothelial barrier function in response to the edemagenic agents LPS and thrombin. Both LPS and thrombin reduced SHP2 activity, correlated with decreased focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation (Y 397 and Y 925 ) and diminished SHP2 protein-protein associations with FAK. Overexpression of constitutively active SHP2 (SHP2 D61A ) enhanced baseline endothelial monolayer resistance and completely blocked LPSand thrombin-induced permeability in vitro and significantly blunted pulmonary edema formation induced by either endotoxin (LPS) or Pseudomonas aeruginosa exposure in vivo. Chemical inhibition of FAK decreased SHP2 protein-protein interactions with FAK concomitant with increased permeability; however, overexpression of SHP2 D61A rescued the endothelium and maintained FAK activity and FAK-SHP2 protein interactions. Our data suggest that SHP2 activation offers the pulmonary endothelium protection against barrier permeability mediators downstream of the FAK signaling pathway. We postulate that further studies into the promotion of SHP2 activation in the pulmonary endothelium may offer a therapeutic approach for patients suffering from ALI.Keywords: endothelium; SH2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2; pulmonary edema; acute lung injury; focal adhesion kinase
Clinical RelevanceThis work studies the mechanism through which SHP2 activation protects the endothelial barrier against injury. In settings of acute lung injury, activation of SHP2 may offer a novel therapeutic approach to treat pulmonary edema.Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a complex syndrome associated with severe arterial hypoxemia. Onset of ARDS results from several predisposing factors, such as pneumonia, pancreatitis, sepsis, and trauma. At present, patients suffering from ARDS are treated with mechanical ventilation; however, there are insufficient treatment options available, and