Submit a Letter to the Editor for:
Tobias Eckle, Almut Grenz, Stefanie Laucher, Holger K. Eltzschig
J Clin Invest. 2008;
118(10):3301
doi:10.1172/JCI34203
Abstract |
Full text
|
PDF
|
Supplemental material

A
lthough acute lung injury contributes significantly to critical illness, resolution often occurs spontaneously via activation of incompletely understood pathways. We recently found that mechanical ventilation of mice increases the level of pulmonary adenosine, and that mice deficient for extracellular adenosine generation show increased pulmonary edema and inflammation after ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Here, we profiled the response to VILI in mice with genetic deletions of each of the 4 adenosine receptors (ARs) and found that deletion of the A2BAR gene was specifically associated with reduced survival time and increased pulmonary albumin leakage after injury. In WT mice, treatment with an A2BAR-selective antagonist resulted in enhanced pulmonary inflammation, edema, and attenuated gas exchange, while an A2BAR agonist attenuated VILI. In bone marrow–chimeric A2BAR mice, although the pulmonary inflammatory response involved A2BAR signaling from bone marrow–derived cells, A2BARs located on the lung tissue attenuated VILI-induced albumin leakage and pulmonary edema. Furthermore, measurement of alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) demonstrated that A2BAR signaling enhanced amiloride-sensitive fluid transport and elevation of pulmonary cAMP levels following VILI, suggesting that A2BAR agonist treatment protects by drying out the lungs. Similar enhancement of pulmonary cAMP and AFC were also observed after β-adrenergic stimulation, a pathway known to promote AFC. Taken together, these studies reveal a role for A2BAR signaling in attenuating VILI and implicate this receptor as a potential therapeutic target during acute lung injury.
Guidelines:
The Editorial Board will only consider letters that we deem relevant and of interest to our readers. We will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review, nor will we post letters that are essentially a reiteration of another letter. All accepted letters will be posted on our website within one week of acceptance. The Editors reserve the right to edit any letter for length, content, and clarity. Authors of all accepted letters will be asked to preview any changes. Authors will be notified by e-mail if their letters were not accepted. As this is a final decision, no appeals will be considered.
Specific requirements: All letters must be 400 words or fewer. You may enter the letter as plain text or HTML, if you wish. The author's name and e-mail address are required, and will be posted with the letter. All possible conflicts of interest must be noted, even if they are not posted. If you wish to include a figure (keep in mind that non-peer-reviewed data will not be posted), please contact the editor directly at editors@the-jci.org.