Open Access

Altered pulmonary capillary permeability in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1

  • Authors:
    • Xu Cai
    • Na Yu
    • Jiangwei Ma
    • Wen‑Yang Li
    • Mingtao Xu
    • Erran Li
    • Min Zhang
    • Wei Wang
    • Yu Chen
    • Jian Kang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: October 14, 2019     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8102
  • Pages: 4368-4378
  • Copyright: © Cai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

In immunosuppressed hosts, Legionella pneumophila (Lp) infection usually develops into severe pneumonia, which is pathologically characterized by increased vascular permeability and pulmonary edema. At present, mechanisms associated with changes in pulmonary capillary permeability (PCP) and the pathogenesis of pulmonary edema in immunosuppressed hosts with Lp infection are unclear. Therefore, in the present study an animal model of normal and immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Lp was established. An isolated perfused lung system was used to investigate the extent of changes in PCP. Pathological and immunofluorescence examinations were performed to explore the mechanism underlying these changes. The results indicated that PCP increased with the highest magnitude in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Lp, with repeated ANOVA indicating synergism between infection and immunosuppression (P=0.0444). Hematoxylin and eosin staining and electron microscopy revealed more severe morphological damages in the lung tissues and pulmonary capillaries of the immunosuppressed animals infected with Lp compared with normal animals infected with Lp. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that immunosuppression reduced the expression of the vascular endothelial cell junction protein VE‑cadherin (P=0.027). Following Lp infection, VE‑cadherin expression was significantly lower in the immunosuppressed guinea pigs compared with their immunocompetent counterparts (P=0.001). These results suggest that immunosuppression combined with Lp infection induces more significant damage to pulmonary capillaries compared with Lp infection alone, resulting in a significantly increased PCP.
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December-2019
Volume 18 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Cai X, Yu N, Ma J, Li WY, Xu M, Li E, Zhang M, Wang W, Chen Y, Kang J, Kang J, et al: Altered pulmonary capillary permeability in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. Exp Ther Med 18: 4368-4378, 2019
APA
Cai, X., Yu, N., Ma, J., Li, W., Xu, M., Li, E. ... Kang, J. (2019). Altered pulmonary capillary permeability in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 18, 4368-4378. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8102
MLA
Cai, X., Yu, N., Ma, J., Li, W., Xu, M., Li, E., Zhang, M., Wang, W., Chen, Y., Kang, J."Altered pulmonary capillary permeability in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 18.6 (2019): 4368-4378.
Chicago
Cai, X., Yu, N., Ma, J., Li, W., Xu, M., Li, E., Zhang, M., Wang, W., Chen, Y., Kang, J."Altered pulmonary capillary permeability in immunosuppressed guinea pigs infected with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 18, no. 6 (2019): 4368-4378. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8102