Experimental lung research
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Comparative Study
Progressive, severe lung injury secondary to the interaction of insults in gastric aspiration.
This study examines lung injury and inflammation over 24 hours following intratracheal instillation of hydrochloric acid (acid), small nonacidic gastric particles (SNAP), or combined acid and small particles (CASP) in adult rats. The severity and duration of injury was significantly greater for CASP compared to acid or SNAP based on PaO2/FiO2, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) albumin, and BAL cell numbers. The inflammatory response associated with aspiration injury from CASP was distinct in several respects. ⋯ Additional cytokine cluster analyses indicated that levels of MCP-1 and CINC-1 in BAL from all injured animals were strongly correlated with inflammatory neutrophil numbers at 6 and 24 hours post aspiration, and that IL-10 levels in BAL were strongly correlated with inflammatory cell numbers at 24 hours. Preliminary blocking experiments showed that administration of anti-IL-10 antibody increased the albumin permeability index at 6 hours in SNAP and CASP animals, but anti-MCP-1 antibody did not affect the severity of injury. The results of this study support the possibility that different forms of aspiration are associated with identifiable cytokine profiles, and that specific cytokines, including IL-10 and MCP-1, may have utility as diagnostic or prognostic markers in clinical applications.