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Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, January 2009, p. 43-48, Vol. 16, No. 1
1071-412X/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/CVI.00282-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin,1 Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin,2 Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia3
Received 4 August 2008/ Returned for modification 9 September 2008/ Accepted 27 October 2008
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The involvement of extracellular ATP in lung inflammation is a relatively new area of research. Patients with cystic fibrosis, a chronic inflammatory lung disease in humans, have increased levels of ATP in both their sputum and lungs (4). This has been correlated with increased neutrophil numbers in the lung. In a model of asthma, extracellular ATP activated dendritic cells in the lungs, which then stimulated airway inflammation (6). Airway smooth muscle contraction, another physiologic change associated with asthma, is also stimulated by ATP (16). The effects of ATP are not always detrimental. ATP appears to have a protective effect in acute inflammation. Kolosova et al. demonstrated that a long-lasting, nonhydrolyzed form of ATP (ATP
S) given to mice after transtracheal administration of LPS prevented increases in bronchoalveolar lavage protein and white blood cell counts, Evans blue leakage into the lung, and decreased transendothelial cell electrical resistance (11). ATP has also been shown to induce anion secretion in airway epithelial cells and surfactant secretion in alveolar epithelial cells, both of which help to remove noxious particles from the lung (10, 22, 25). In addition, extracellular ATP appears to downregulate the human monocyte response to LPS through Toll-like receptor 4 (8).
There are many sources of ATP during lung inflammation, including bacteria, apoptotic and necrotic host cells, activated epithelial cells, and macrophages (1, 5, 23, 26). The effects of increased ATP in the bovine lung and its involvement in inflammation have not been studied previously. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of ATP on bovine lung epithelial and endothelial cells in vitro.
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Bovine pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (BPMEC) were purchased from CS-C Cell Systems (Kirkland, WA). Both cell types were maintained in media consisting of Dulbecco modified Eagle medium-Ham F-12 mix (Cellgro) with 10% fetal bovine serum (Atlanta Biologicals, Lawrenceville, GA), a penicillin (100 IU)-streptomycin (100 µg/ml) mix (Cellgro), 2 mM glutamine (Cellgro), and 1 µg of insulin (Sigma)/ml. In addition, 1 ng of epithelial growth factor (Sigma)/ml was added to the medium for the BPE cells. The cells were grown in tissue culture plates (Falcon; BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ), and when the cells were confluent they were passaged using trypsin.
BPE cell and BPMEC morphology, apoptosis, and necrosis assays. BPE cells and BPMEC were grown on six-well plates (Falcon). When the cells were confluent, either diluent alone or 0.1, 1, or 5 mM ATP (Sigma) was added to the wells, and the plate incubated for 6, 12, or 24 h. At the indicated time points, the cells were examined by using an inverted light microscope (Diaspot; Nikon, Japan) and photographed. Adherent cells were recovered by trypsinization and washed twice with Dulbecco phosphate-buffered salt solution (Fisher, Fair Lawn, NJ). A commercial kit (BD Biosciences) that uses annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and propidium iodide (PI) staining was used to determine the level of apoptosis and necrosis in the cells using the protocol provided by the commercial supplier. For analysis, a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences) flow cytometer was used to determine the two-color fluorescence of the cells. A four-quadrant region was created for each cell type, using cells stained with either annexin V-FITC or PI. This region setup was then used to analyze 10,000 events of either the diluent or the ATP-treated cells that had been stained with both dyes. The percentage of cells in the upper right quadrant (both annexin V-FITC and PI positive; late apoptotic or necrotic cells) and in the lower right quadrant (only annexin V-FITC positive; early apoptotic cells) was determined. The experiment was repeated three times.
BPE cell and BPMEC permeability.
Permeability of the BPE cell and BPMEC monolayers was determined by measuring the Transwell electrical resistance (TEER) of the cell monolayers. The BPE cells or BPMEC were grown to confluence on 8.0-µm-pore-size Transwell culture inserts (BD Biosciences). Prior to the use of an insert in an experiment, an initial electrical resistance reading was performed to ensure that the monolayer had minimum resistances of 75
2 for the BPMEC and 150
2 for the BPE cells. The inserts were then aseptically transferred to an insert chamber (EndOhm-6; World Precision Instruments, Sarasota, FL) that consisted of an upper electrode in the lid that extended into the medium of the insert and a lower electrode, which sat beneath the insert in 1 ml of medium. Resistance readings between the electrodes were measured by using an ohmmeter (EVOM; World Precision Instruments). Inserts were incubated at 37°C with 5.0% CO2, and TEER measurements were performed immediately after the addition of ATP (0.1 to 5 mM) and then hourly afterward for up to 6 h. All treatment groups were run in triplicate, and all experiments were performed five times. The results for replicate samples were averaged, and the percent change from the no-treatment group at the same time point was calculated.
In a similar set of experiments, the P2X7 receptor antagonist periodate-oxidized 2',3'-dialdehyde ATP (oATP; Sigma) was added at a concentration of 100 µM to the inserts 30 min prior to the addition of 1 mM ATP. As controls, some inserts received only oATP, ATP, or diluent prior to the resistance measurements. The TEER of the inserts was measured immediately after the addition of and 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 h after the addition of ATP.
P2X7 expression. P2X7 expression was determined in the BPE cells and BPMEC by measuring mRNA expression for this receptor using endpoint PCR. Monolayers of BPE cells and BPMEC were grown to confluence in six-well plates. To some of the wells, 1 µg of Escherichia coli-derived LPS (Sigma)/ml was added 3 h prior to harvesting mRNA by using an RNeasy kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) according to the supplied protocol. The concentration and purity of the sample was checked by measuring the absorbances of the sample at 240 and 260 nm with a spectrophotometer (SmartSpec 300; Bio-Rad). mRNA (1.5 µg) was converted to cDNA by using reverse transcriptase (Reverse Transcriptase Systems; Promega, Madison, WI) according to the supplied protocol. A fixed volume of each sample cDNA was added to a Taq polymerase master mix (Promega), along with 5 µM concentrations of the forward and reverse primers for bovine P2X7 or β-actin. Primers were designed by performing a PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bethesda, MD) search for coding sequences for these bovine genes. Using these sequences, the software program PrimerExpress (version 3; AB Biosciences, Foster City, CA) was used to design primers that had a melting point of 60°C and an amplicon length of 400 to 500 bp. Primers were manufactured at Integrated DNA Technologies (Coralville, IA). The primers were as follows: P2X7 forward, TGGATCCAAAGCAAGACTTATGG; P2X7 reverse, TACACCTGCCGGTCTGGATT; β-actin forward, CGGGCAGGTCATCACCAT; and β-actin reverse, TGCGCAAGTTAGGTTTTGTCA.
Amplification was performed by using a thermocycler (PTC-200; MJ Research, Waltham, MA). After amplification, samples were electrophoresed on a 1.5% agarose gel (power supply [PS500X2; Hoeffer Scientific], gel apparatus [Bio-Rad]). DNA bands were visualized by staining the gels in ethidium bromide (Sigma) and viewing them with a UV light source (Fotodyne, Hartford, WI). Images were captured by using a camera (Fotodyne).
Statistical analysis.
Comparisons between different treatment groups were accomplished by calculating the analysis of variance using a software program (StatView SE+; Abacus Concepts, Berkeley, CA). The Tukey-Kramer test was then used to determine which means were significantly different. Statistical significance was set at P
0.05.
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FIG. 1. Shape change occurred in BPE cells but not BPMEC treated with ATP. BPE cells (A and B) and BPMEC (C and D) were exposed to diluent (A and C) or 5 mM ATP (B and D) for 6 h and then photographed (magnification, x100). The inset in panel B shows a higher-power magnification of BPE cells treated with ATP (magnification, x400).
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FIG. 2. Neither BPMEC (A) nor BPE cells (B) exhibited significant increases in cell death when treated with ATP. Cells were harvested at the times indicated, stained with annexin-FITC and PI, and then examined by flow cytometry. Gates were established based on staining with the two fluorochromes, and cells were counted based on single or double positive staining. The values shown represent the means ± the standard errors of the mean (SEM) of three separate experiments.
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FIG. 3. BPE cells and BPMEC incubated with 5 mM ATP exhibited decreased permeability (TEER). BPMEC (A) or BPE cell (B) monolayers in Transwell inserts were incubated with diluent or ATP. The electrical resistance of the monolayers was measured immediately after the addition of ATP (time zero) and at hourly intervals thereafter. The percent change in the TEER was calculated by comparing the resistance for the treated monolayers versus the time-matched control monolayers. The values shown represent the means ± the SEM of three separate experiments. *, P 0.05 compared to the diluent-treated control monolayers at the same time points.
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FIG. 4. BPE cells and BPMEC express mRNA for the purinergic receptor P2X7. BPE cells and BPMEC were incubated for 3 h at 37°C with medium alone or medium containing 1 µg of LPS/ml. mRNA was collected from the BPMEC (lanes 1 to 4) and BPE cells (lanes 5 to 8), converted to cDNA, and then amplified using the primers sets for P2X7 (lanes 1, 3, 5, and 7) or β-actin (lanes 2, 4, 6, and 8). Lane 3 shows the results with BPMEC treated with LPS; lane 7 shows the results for BPE cells treated with LPS.
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FIG. 5. The permeability changes in BPE cells (A) but not BPMEC (B) incubated with ATP were prevented by preincubating the cells with the P2X7 receptor antagonist oATP. A total of 100 µM oATP was added to some inserts 30 min prior to the addition of diluent or 1 mM ATP. The electrical resistance of the monolayers was then measured immediately after the addition of ATP (time zero) and at hourly intervals afterward. The percent change in the TEER was calculated by comparing the resistance in the treated monolayers with the time-matched control monolayers. Values shown represent the mean ± the SEM of three separate experiments. *, P 0.05 compared to the diluent-treated control monolayers at the same time points.
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The lack of correlation between morphological changes in the cell monolayers, as well as the increased permeability after ATP incubation, were unexpected. To the best of our knowledge, the effects of extracellular ATP on bovine lung endothelial and epithelial cell permeability have not been reported previously. The >50% reduction in electrical resistance (TEER) of the BPE cell monolayers after incubation with ATP was not surprising in light of the intercellular gaps that were evident by light microscopy. In contrast, BPMEC had neither visible morphological changes nor intercellular gaps, and yet they exhibited a similar 50% decrease in electrical resistance in response to ATP.
There are several potential mechanisms to explain the changes in the permeability of cell monolayers. At a cellular level, changes in the actin cytoskeleton may be critical in influencing cell permeability, since actin-myosin contraction likely creates intercellular gaps in both endothelial and epithelial cell monolayers (2, 12). In one study, actin disruption by mechanical stretching of lung epithelial cells led to decreased cell-cell attachment but did not affect concentrations of the proteins making up the tight junctions (2). A possible molecular mechanism to explain the permeability change is modification of the proteins that constitute the tight junctions between cell membranes. This process has been best described during the migration of leukocytes through endothelial cell monolayers, which requires the release of proteases by the migrating leukocytes (29). Tight and adherens junction protein modifications can also occur without protease release. For example, overexpression of Raf kinase inhibitor protein in epithelial cells decreases cell-to-cell adhesion by affecting proteins that form the adherens and tight junctions between cells (15). In regard to endothelial cells, increased intracellular Ca2+, both released from internal stores and by movement of extracellular Ca2+ into the cell, induces contraction of the cells via myosin light chain-dependent cytoskeleton retraction and the disassembly of interendothelial junctions (28). In the present study, the morphological changes observed in the ATP-treated epithelial cells were consistent with cytoskeletal changes in the cells. In contrast, morphological changes were not observed in the ATP-treated endothelial cells, although the monolayers did undergo permeability changes. Perhaps these seemingly conflicting observations reflect (i) minute cytoskeletal changes that were not detectable by light microscopy or (ii) modifications in the proteins making up the tight and adherens junctions between the cells. The decreased endothelial cell permeability we observed is contrary to a previous report by Verin and coworkers (11) of enhanced barrier protection in endothelial cells treated with ATP. The differences between that study and ours may be due to the use of mouse and human endothelial cells in the previous study, which also used a long-lasting ATP preparation (ATP
S).
Lung endothelial and epithelial cells have several receptors that could interact with extracellular ATP, including those of the P2Y and P2X families (19, 20, 27). Particular attention has been paid to the role of P2X7 in the response to ATP. One distinguishing feature of P2X7 receptor activation is that it requires relatively large (usually greater than 100 µM) concentrations of ATP (19). In the present study, 100 µM ATP had no measurable effect on monolayer permeability for either cell type, whereas an effect on monolayer permeability was observed with 1 and 5 mM ATP. Piper and coworkers previously demonstrated decreased permeability of bovine aortic endothelial cells exposed to 10 µM ATP (18), a dose that should not engage the P2X7 receptor but could potentially activate other P2Y and P2X receptors (9, 19). In the present study, we observed increased permeability at an ATP concentration that should have engaged the P2X7 receptor. Further support for P2X7 involvement in the ATP response of epithelial cells was provided by the ability of the P2X7 receptor antagonist, oATP, to block the effects of ATP on monolayer permeability. However, oATP will also interact with P2X1 and P2X2 receptors and possibly other receptors outside the P2X family (3, 19). Other P2X7 receptor antagonists also suffer from this limitation. More specific inhibitors are not commercially available at this time (17, 19). Based on our observations, including evidence that epithelial and endothelial cells express the P2X7 receptor, we infer that the P2X7 receptor was involved in the monolayer permeability changes that occurred in response to ATP. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that other receptors were also involved.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of extracellular ATP on bovine lung endothelial and epithelial cells. With both cell types, high concentrations of ATP (
1 mM) induced rapid and reversible changes in the permeability of the cell monolayers that did not involve increased cell necrosis or apoptosis. Several experimental studies with calves have demonstrated the leakage of blood components into the interstitial spaces and airways of the lung within the first couple of hours after inoculation with M. haemolytica (14, 24, 30). The in vitro permeability changes observed in the present study mirror the changes in vascular integrity that have been observed in these previous studies. It is still unknown at this time whether ATP levels can reach millimolar concentrations in the lung under any circumstances. It has been postulated that levels near leaking or lysed cells may get into the millimolar range, given the fact that levels of ATP in normal intact cells can be that high (7). This theory has some support, since a recent study looking at ATP levels in the interstitium of a tumor cell line found levels of ATP in the tumor to be in the hundreds of micromolar range (21). If levels of ATP can reach millimolar levels in the bovine lung, especially during infection, this would warrant additional study of extracellular ATP as a mediator in the pathogenesis of bovine respiratory disease.
Published ahead of print on 5 November 2008. ![]()
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S against acute lung injury. Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. 294:L319-L324.
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