DOI: 10.1369/jhc.4A6498.2005 Volume 53 (6): 773-780, 2005 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Identification of Adrenomedullin in Avian Type II Pneumocytes : Increased Expression after Exposure to Air Pollutants
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland (NC), and Cell and Cancer Biology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (AM,FC,EZ) Correspondence to: Natalia Cuesta, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, 660 W. Redwood Street, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail: ncuesta{at}som.umaryland.edu Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilator peptide present in the lung of mammals where it is expressed mainly in the columnar epithelium and alveolar macrophages. AM increases the secretion of phosphatidylcholine by type II pneumocytes, which suggests a role as an autocrine modulator of surfactant secretion. In this study we show the expression of an AM-like protein in the lung of the pigeon, Columba livia. Using an antibody against its human ortholog, AM-like immunoreactivity was found to be associated with membranous structures of the multivesicular bodies of type II pneumocytes. We also studied the differential expression of AM-like peptide in the lung of pigeons exposed to polluted city air vs cleaner countryside conditions and found that AM-like expression was higher in city animals. Similar results were obtained in an experimental study in which pigeons were exposed to increasing concentrations of a single pollutant, ozone. Taken together, our findings support the implication of AM in the response of type II pneumocytes to air pollutants. (J Histochem Cytochem 53:773780, 2005)
Key Words: adrenomedullin pigeon air pollution lung surfactant type II pneumocytes ozone
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