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J Appl Physiol 82: 1479-1487, 1997;
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Journal of Applied Physiology
Vol. 82, No. 5, pp. 1479-1487, May 1997
GAS EXCHANGE, MECHANICS, AND AIRWAYS

Methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in rats: effects of intravenous vs. aerosol delivery

Ferenc Peták, Zoltán Hantos, Ágnes Adamicza, Tibor Asztalos, and Peter D. Sly

Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, Western Australia 6001, Australia; and Department of Medical Informatics and Engineering and Institute of Experimental Surgery, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical University, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOOTNOTES
REFERENCES


ABSTRACT

Peták, Ferenc, Zoltán Hantos, Ágnes Adamicza, Tibor Asztalos, and Peter D. Sly. Methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in rats: effects of intravenous vs. aerosol delivery. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(5): 1479-1487, 1997.---To determine the predominant site of action of methacholine (MCh) on lung mechanics, two groups of open-chest Sprague-Dawley rats were studied. Five rats were measured during intravenous infusion of MCh (iv group), with doubling of concentrations from 1 to 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1. Seven rats were measured after aerosol administration of MCh with doses doubled from 1 to 16 mg/ml (ae group). Pulmonary input impedance (ZL) between 0.5 and 21 Hz was determined by using a wave-tube technique. A model containing airway resistance (Raw) and inertance (Iaw) and parenchymal damping (G) and elastance (H) was fitted to the ZL spectra. In the iv group, MCh induced dose-dependent increases in Raw [peak response 270 ± 9 (SE) % of the control level; P < 0.05] and in G (340 ± 150%; P < 0.05), with no increase in Iaw (30 ± 59%) or H (111 ± 9%). In the ae group, the dose-dependent increases in Raw (191 ± 14%; P < 0.05) and G (385 ± 35%; P < 0.05) were associated with a significant increase in H (202 ± 8%; P < 0.05). Measurements with different resident gases [air vs. neon-oxygen mixture, as suggested (K. R. Lutchen, Z. Hantos, F. Peták, Á. Adamicza, and B. Suki. J. Appl. Physiol. 80: 1841-1849, 1996 [Medline] )] in the control and constricted states in another group of rats suggested that the entire increase seen in G during the iv challenge was due to ventilation inhomogeneity, whereas the ae challenge might also have involved real tissue contractions via selective stimulation of the muscarinic receptors.

airway resistance; lung tissue resistance; forced oscillations


INTRODUCTION

PREVIOUS STUDIES on respiratory mechanics at frequencies above those of spontaneous breathing rate or performed on isolated airways led to the belief that methacholine (MCh) causes constriction merely of the conducting airways. Recently, partitioning of the lung resistance (RL) into airway (Raw) and parenchymal (Rti) parts has established the importance of the lung tissues in the pulmonary responsiveness to various constrictor stimuli (11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21-27). Nevertheless, numerous conflicting data have been reported on the site of action of bronchoactive agonists such as MCh or histamine. In a number of studies, the pulmonary tissue has been shown to be responsible for the major increase in the resistive pressure drop across the lungs after a MCh aerosol challenge (18, 27) or after a bolus intravenous (iv) infusion (13). Inhalation of MCh was reported to elevate Raw and Rti to a similar degree in dogs (21). In contrast, no increase was observed in the parenchymal hysteresis in humans after a MCh aerosol challenge, whereas the airways seemed to respond (14, 19). In all of the above studies the airways were demonstrated to respond to a MCh challenge, but practically no increase in Raw was detected in rabbits after MCh inhalation, whereas the Rti and elastance increased eight- and threefold, respectively (22). Furthermore, Sato et al. (24) found a fairly uniform tissue constriction, whereas Raw displayed an obvious elevation in two dogs, only a slight increase in a third, and even a decrease in the fourth.

Recently, Nagase et al. (18) investigated the mechanism that gives rise to Rti, by inducing constriction with an iv or aerosol administration of MCh. They demonstrated that aerosolized MCh had a greater effect on the airways, whereas iv delivery generated higher parenchymal responses. They argued that the latter phenomenon may be related to a heterogeneous response of the peripheral airways. More recently, by provoking smaller increases in Rti, Salerno et al. (23) obtained a fundamentally different pattern of effect, depending on whether the MCh was inhaled or iv delivered.

Most of these contradictions can be attributed to methodological factors. Both in vivo and in vitro studies have suggested that MCh increases the inhomogeneity of the lung periphery (11, 18), and it has been pointed out that, in the presence of a peripheral inhomogeneity, the uncertainties associated with the sampling of alveolar pressure (PA) with alveolar capsules may lead to false estimations of airway and tissue responses to constrictor stimuli (11). It should be also recalled that the vast majority of the studies referred to above used alveolar capsules to sample PA. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that model parameters derived from low-frequency pulmonary input impedance data (ZL) adequately characterize the airway and lung tissue properties both under control conditions (8-12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 28) and during pulmonary constriction (11, 12, 15, 17).

It is unclear what portion of the contradictory data relating to the relative contributions of the airways and parenchyma to MCh-induced constriction can be attributed to the different routes of MCh delivery. The purpose of the present study was a systematic exploration of how the predominant site of action of MCh in the respiratory tract differs, depending on the route of administration, within a single strain of rat. To avoid any possible carryover effect, the studies were performed in two separate groups of rats. In the first group of rats, MCh was infused iv, whereas the second group was challenged with aerosolized MCh. Overall airway and lung tissue responses were separated by fitting a model containing an airway and a parenchymal compartment to low-frequency ZL data (11).


METHODS

Animal Preparation

We performed experiments in two groups of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. MCh was administered iv to five rats (330-450 g; iv group), and eight rats [340-410 g; aerosol (ae) group] were used to examine the effect of inhaled MCh. In both groups, the animals were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium (30 mg/kg ip) and placed in a supine position on a heating pad. A carotid artery and a jugular vein were cannulated for monitoring of systemic blood pressure and drug delivery, respectively. Tracheostomy was performed, and a 30-mm plastic cannula (2-mm inner diameter) was inserted into the distal trachea. Mechanical ventilation was maintained by a Harvard small-animal respirator, with a tidal volume of 3 ml and a frequency of 90 breaths/min. The end-expiratory pressure was set at 2.5 cmH2O, the thorax was opened with midline sternotomy, and the ribs were widely retracted. Paralysis was accomplished with pipecuronium bromide (0.2 mg/kg initial dose, supplemented every 20 min by 0.05 mg/kg). Additional anesthetics (10 mg/kg pentobarbital sodium) were given every 40 min.

ZL Measurements

ZL was measured with the wave-tube technique (6, 12, 29). The tracheal cannula was switched from the respirator at end expiration and connected to a loudspeaker-in-box system through a 120-cm length of polyethylene tubing (2-mm inner diameter). Before each measurement, the pressure in the box chambers was adjusted to 2.5 cmH2O to keep the transpulmonary pressure unchanged during measurements. The wave-tube was equipped with sidearms and miniature transducers (ICS model 33NA002D) to measure the lateral pressures at the loudspeaker end (P1) and the cannula end (P2). The loudspeaker was driven by a computer-generated small-amplitude pseudorandom signal containing 23 noninteger-multiple components between 0.5 and 21 Hz and producing a <2-cmH2O peak-to-peak excursion in P1. The signals of P1 and P2 were low-pass filtered (5th-order Butterworth, 25-Hz corner frequency) and digitized at a sampling rate of 128 Hz by an analog-to-digital board of an AT486 IBM-compatible computer. The pressure-transfer functions (i.e., P1/P2) were computed by fast Fourier transformation from the 6-s recordings by using 4-s time windows and 95% overlapping. According to the transmission line theory, ZL can be calculated from the P1/P2 spectra as the load impedance of the wave tube (6, 12, 29)
Z<SC>l</SC> = Zo sin<IT>h</IT> (&ggr;<SC>l</SC>)/[(P<SUB>1</SUB>/P<SUB>2</SUB>) − cos<IT>h</IT> (&ggr;<SC>l</SC>)]
where Zo and gamma  are the characteristic impedance and the complex propagation wave number, respectively, both determined by the geometrical data and the material constants of the tube and the air (4).

Study Protocol

iv Challenge. MCh was infused at rates of 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1. Before each infusion, the lungs were hyperinflated by occluding the expiratory outlet of the respirator for one cycle, i.e., producing two superimposed inspirations. Four successive measurements of ZL, 1 min apart, were made and the infusion was then started. The duration of each infusion was 10 min, and ZL was measured 30 s after the onset of the infusion and every 1 min thereafter. The infusion was suspended for at least 15 min to let the blood pressure recover before the next series of control and infusion measurements was begun.

Aerosol challenge. After four successive baseline measurements, solutions of saline or 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 mg/kg MCh were delivered for 40 s each by an ultrasonic nebulizer (model 2000, DeVilbiss) via the inspiratory port of the respirator. Before each delivery, two inspiratory phases were superimposed to standardize the volume history. Measurements were started 30 s after completion of each aerosol challenge, and six successive recordings were collected during every 30 s. The next dose was administered 60 s after the last recording.

Parameter Estimation

The ZL data were evaluated in terms of a model containing an airway compartment characterized by frequency-independent resistance (Raw) and inertance (Iaw) and a constant-phase tissue compartment including tissue damping (G) and elastance (H)
Z<SC>l</SC> = Raw + <IT>j</IT>&ohgr;Iaw + (G − <IT>j</IT>H)/&ohgr;<SUP>&agr;</SUP>
where j is the imaginary unit, omega  is the angular frequency, and exponent alpha  is expressed as alpha  = 2/pi arctan (H/G). Pulmonary hysteresivity (eta ) (7) was calculated as G/H.

In the iv group, three to five ZL spectra were ensemble averaged in each preinfusion state and at the peak responses. Because of the absence of a plateau response after the MCh aerosol challenge, parameters corresponding to the peak response in Raw were used for analysis in the ae group. The data at frequencies coinciding with the heart rate and its harmonics were often corrupted, as evidenced by poor coherence and a high SD, and they were omitted from the model fitting.

Statistical Analysis

Scatters in the parameters were expressed in SE values. We used one-way analysis of variances with Dunnett's multiple comparison procedure to compare the parameters from the control with those obtained after MCh challenges. Two-way analysis of variances with the Student-Newman-Keuls multiple comparison procedure was applied to compare the effects of iv and aerosolized MCh. Each test was performed with a P < 0.05 significance level.

Validation of Airway-Tissue Separation

To validate the airway and tissue parameters derived from model fitting, we measured another group of animals breathing air and then a mixture of 80% neon + 20% oxygen (NeOx) under both control and steady-state constricted conditions, as suggested by Lutchen et al. (15). Three rats were challenged with 16 and 32 µg · kg-1 · min-1 iv infusions of MCh, and three were challenged with 4 mg/ml aerosolized MCh. To allow for measurements both with air and with NeOx, a stable level of constriction was required. This was achieved by continuing each challenge for 30 min.

We used a modified setup to collect ZL data. The wave tube was not directly connected to the loudspeaker box. To allow for accurate control of the gas concentration in the system as well as rapid change in the composition of the oscillatory gas, a bag-in-box system was inserted between the loudspeaker and the wave tube. The loudspeaker oscillated the air in the box, and the opening of the bag was led transmurally to the wave tube. The material constants of the air or the NeOx were used to calculate Zo and gamma .

Before the NeOx measurements, four to six data epochs each were collected when the lungs were filled with room air at baseline and when a steady-state constriction was observed. The rats were then switched to breathe NeOx from a reservoir attached to the inspiratory port of the respirator. When the NeOx concentration had equilibrated (~90 breaths), four to six measurements were made with the NeOx-filled bag in the box.


RESULTS

Typical ZL data recorded in the control state and at three iv MCh-infusion rates are presented in Fig. 1. The low variabilities of the ZL data indicate very stable plateau responses in this animal. MCh caused increases in the real part of ZL (i.e., RL) at all frequencies, but they were more obvious in the low-frequency range; in general, these elevations were accompanied by minor changes in pulmonary reactance (XL) in the iv group but by more marked decreases in XL in the ae group. Apart from the small systematic fitting error in the two lowest-frequency points of the real parts during MCh challenge, the model fits the ZL data well, with an average fitting error (F) of 2.6 ± 0.1% in the ae group and 2.9 ± 0.1% in the iv group, respectively. F showed no statistically significant differences between the control and the constricted states in either group. There were no statistically significant differences between the baseline parameter values from the two groups.


Fig. 1. Real [i.e., lung resistance (RL)] and imaginary [i.e., lung reactance (XL)] parts of pulmonary impedance in a representative rat under control conditions (bullet ) and during 2 (black-down-triangle ), 4 (black-square), or 8 (black-lozenge ) µg · kg-1 · min-1 intravenous methacholine (MCh) infusions, respectively. Values are means ± SD; n = average of 3-5 successive measurements under each condition. Lines, corresponding model fits. Impedance data corrupted by cardiac noise were omitted from model fit (open symbols).
[View Larger Version of this Image (21K GIF file)]

iv Challenge

Figure 2 summarizes the airway and tissue parameters obtained in the control state and at the different MCh-infusion rates. Similar MCh-induced elevations occurred in Raw, G, and eta , which reached 270 ± 90% (P < 0.05), 340 ± 150% (P < 0.05), and 301 ± 102% (P < 0.05), respectively, of their control values. We observed no significant changes in Iaw or in H throughout the infusions, although Iaw in one rat displayed a marked decrease during the highest infusion rate, causing a fall in the average value. No residual effect of iv MCh was found; every parameter returned to its baseline value between infusions (data not presented).
Fig. 2. MCh dose-response curves for airway resistance (Raw), airway inertance (Iaw), tissue damping (G) and tissue elastance (H), and pulmonary hysteresivity (eta ) in iv group. C, control. *Significantly different from control, P < 0.05.
[View Larger Version of this Image (17K GIF file)]

Aerosol Challenge

Changes in the averaged airway and parenchymal parameters for the ae group are shown in Fig. 3 for control and MCh challenges. None of the model parameters exhibited significant changes after saline nebulization. Inhalation of increasing concentrations of MCh caused monotonous and statistically significant elevations in all parameters except Iaw, with the changes beginning after the 2 mg/kg concentration. In response to the highest dose, Iaw was seen to decrease significantly. The group mean values of Raw, Iaw, G, and eta  at peak response were 191 ± 14 (P < 0.05), 73 ± 8 (P < 0.05), 385 ± 35 (P < 0.05), and 190 ± 13% (P < 0.05), respectively, of the control levels. In contrast to the iv MCh challenge, monotonic and statistically significant elevations were found in H, which increased after the highest dose to 202 ± 8% (P < 0.05) of the control value.
Fig. 3. MCh dose-response curves for Raw, Iaw, G, H, and eta  in aerosol administration of MCh (ae) group. S, saline. * Significantly different from control, P < 0.05.
[View Larger Version of this Image (16K GIF file)]

Airway and Tissue Responses: Aerosol vs. iv Delivery

To examine further the differences in the predominant site of action of MCh on lung mechanics, depending on the route of delivery, in Fig. 4 we have plotted the model parameters for the iv group against the corresponding values for the ae group, both normalized by the control values. If the pattern of change were the same in response to iv and aerosol challenges, we would expect a linear relationship between the changes in each variable, with the dose equivalence between the two routes of delivery represented by the slope of the relationship. Different slopes for different variables would indicate a difference in the relative dose-response characteristics for the two delivery routes. In fact, our data demonstrate quite different relationships for different variables. A two-way analysis of variance, with the route of challenge as the first and the dose of MCh as the second factor, revealed that iv administration of MCh induced a significantly higher Raw and a lower Iaw than those after the aerosol challenge. The increases in G were significantly higher in response to the inhalation challenge than after the iv challenge of successive doses. The relative changes in H were highly dissociated: statistically significantly greater elevations were found for the last three aerosol doses than for the corresponding iv concentrations. As follows from the different patterns in G and H, the iv MCh increased eta  significantly more than did the corresponding aerosol dose.
Fig. 4. Comparison of parameter values obtained during ae and iv delivery of MCh, all normalized by their control (c) values. See text for details.
[View Larger Version of this Image (15K GIF file)]

The statistical analysis also revealed that, irrespective of the route factor (i.e., ae or iv), MCh exerted highly significant effects on all parameters (P < 0.005). Furthermore, independently of the dose factor, the changes in Raw, Iaw, and eta  were not different in the two populations, whereas the relative changes in G and H in the ae group were significantly greater than those in the iv group (P < 0.02 and P < 0.001, respectively).

Model Validation

In both groups of rats involved in the NeOx experiments, when the lungs were filled with air, MCh induced a pattern of change in the model parameters similar to that obtained in the main groups of animals (Figs. 2 and 3), although the exposure of the animals to aerosolized MCh was different from that for the main group of rats (continuous aerosol challenge). For the animals breathing air, Raw increased (63 ± 11%) and Iaw slightly decreased (-11 ± 4%) after the 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1 MCh infusion. An increase in G (35 ± 18%) was seen, with practically no change in H (14 ± 10%). In the rats challenged with 4 mg/ml aerosolized MCh, a moderate increase in Raw (24 ± 18%) and no change in Iaw (9 ± 7%) occurred. The increase in G (125 ± 97%) was accompanied by an increase in H (86 ± 58%).

To evaluate the differences due to the change of the resident gas in the lungs, we calculated the NeOx-to-air parameter ratios. When a steady-state NeOx concentration is established in the lungs, the physical principles would lead to the expectation that RawNeOx/Rawair reflects the predicted ratio of the viscosities (1.4), whereas IawNeOx/Iawair reflects that of the densities (0.8) of the two gas mixtures. Furthermore, as Lutchen et al. (15) argued, the tissue parameters should be independent of the resident gas in the normal lung. Figure 5 shows these data for the rats challenged with iv MCh. In the control condition, the ratios for Raw and Iaw were 1.47 ± 0.04 and 0.75 ± 0.06, respectively. The estimates of G and H were independent of the resident gas, as shown by ratios not significantly different from unity (1.0 ± 0.0 and 0.96 ± 0.05 for G and H, respectively). During 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1 MCh infusion, the ratios of Raw (1.39 ± 0.01) and Iaw (0.76 ± 0.06) were similar to those obtained under control conditions. No systematic dependence on the intrapulmonary gas was found for H (1.04 ± 0.09), whereas the ratio of G increased (1.16 ± 0.06). After elevation of the MCh dose to 32 µg · kg-1 · min-1, the NeOx-to-air ratios of Raw and H remained unchanged (1.46 ± 0.07 and 1.01 ± 0.02, respectively), whereas that of G increased further (1.27 ± 0.15) and IawNeOx/Iawair decreased (0.49 ± 0.08).


Fig. 5. Ratios of Raw, Iaw, G, and H obtained with a mixture of 80% neon + 20% oxygen (NeOx) relative to room air in control and during 16 or 32 µg · kg-1 · min-1 iv MCh infusions in 3 individual rats.
[View Larger Version of this Image (19K GIF file)]

The NeOx-to-air parameter ratios for the control conditions and during continuous 4 mg/kg aerosolized MCh challenge are shown in Fig. 6. The ratios obtained under control conditions were very similar to those obtained during MCh infusion. The ratio of Raw again reflects the difference in the gas viscosities (1.47 ± 0.03), whereas the Iaw ratio shows the effect of the different densities (0.72 ± 0.05). The estimates of both G (1.02 ± 0.02) and H (1.03 ± 0.03) were not sensitive to the resident gas in the lungs. Like the moderate iv challenge, the constriction induced by aerosolized MCh had no influence on the ratios of Raw (1.53 ± 0.08), Iaw (0.71 ± 0.03), or H (1.06 ± 0.05). However, G again showed a marked gas dependence (1.21 ± 0.11) during constriction.


Fig. 6. Ratios of Raw, Iaw, G, and H obtained with NeOx relative to room air in control and after a 4 mg/ml aerosolized MCh challenge in 3 individual rats.
[View Larger Version of this Image (16K GIF file)]


DISCUSSION

To examine whether the site of action of MCh differs, depending on the route of administration, we partitioned the response of the lung into airway and parenchymal components when the agent was either inhaled or administered iv. We found significant differences between inhalation and iv delivery. The iv challenge induced roughly a threefold increase in Raw and similar elevation in G. No increases in Iaw or H were seen. The different patterns of change in G and H resulted in marked elevations in eta . The aerosol delivery of MCh induced two- and fourfold increases in Raw and G, respectively. In contrast with the iv delivery, a twofold, highly significant elevation was also observed in H. The combination of the patterns in the tissue parameters resulted in a moderate elevation in eta .

Model Appropriateness

Our ZL spectra agree qualitatively with those reported on dogs (10-12, 24, 28), cats (8), and rabbits (16) and are very similar to those obtained in rats (9, 15). The ability of the constant-phase model to afford an accurate description of the tissue mechanics and thereby separate the airway and parenchymal components of the total ZL has been demonstrated in different species under control (8, 10-12, 15, 16, 20, 28) and constricted conditions (11, 12, 15, 17). Both in the present study and in previous reports, the model fitted equally well to ZL data obtained after aerosol and iv challenges. Our confidence in the model performance is reinforced by the results of the present model validation studies involving the use of different resident gases. In agreement with the results reported by Lutchen et al. (15), the baseline lung tissue properties were not affected when the intrapulmonary air was replaced by NeOx, and the ratios of Raw and Iaw reflected the viscosity and density ratios, respectively, of the intrapulmonary gases. Accordingly, our data confirm their conclusion, i.e., airway inhomogeneities do not influence the estimates of airway and parenchymal mechanics from low-frequency ZL spectra obtained under control conditions. In addition, during both iv and aerosolized delivery of MCh, the NeOx-to-air ratios of Raw, Iaw, and H remained at the baseline level, whereas G was higher when the lung was filled with NeOx. This finding is also fully consistent with the results of Lutchen et al. (15), confirming that airflow inhomogeneities due to heterogeneous constriction of the peripheral airways can contribute to an increase in G.

Predominant Site of Action of MCh

iv Infusion. Our data indicate that MCh delivered by iv infusion has a significant effect on the airway caliber. Furthermore, our dose-response curves permit an insight into the serial distribution of the bronchoconstriction. MCh induced a significant increase in Raw, whereas Iaw remained at the baseline level at doses producing moderate constriction. Because Iaw is thought to be primarily a property of the central airways, it may be concluded that iv MCh induced bronchoconstriction in the peripheral airways.

The interpretation of the parenchymal response is not as obvious and requires a short review of the assumptions inherent in the partitioning method. We assume that the asymptotic value of the real part represents the frequency-independent Raw, and the entire frequency dependence of the low-frequency real and imaginary parts can be attributed to the viscoelasticity of the parenchyma. At baseline, our tissue parameters were independent of the resident gas in the lungs, confirming that these assumptions are likely to be valid in healthy lungs (15).

The GNeOx/Gair ratio increased from 1.00 at baseline to 1.16 and 1.27 during iv MCh infusion at 16 and 32 µg · kg-1 · min-1, respectively. This finding also confirms the observation of Lutchen et al. (15) that the enhanced airway inhomogeneity induced by severe constriction can add a significant artifactual (i.e., not of tissue origin) frequency dependence to the low-frequency real part, and hence G. Consequently, a MCh-induced elevation in G can either occur as a result of changed intrinsic tissue damping or originate from peripheral ventilation inhomogeneity.

After iv administration, we found a significant (4-fold) increase in G, whereas H remained at the baseline level. This finding is similar to the results obtained by Lutchen et al. (15) in Wistar rats, although they observed a slight (12.8%) but statistically significant elevation in H during the 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1 MCh infusion, which accompanied a marked (44%) increase in G. They argued that enhanced airway inhomogeneities increased the frequency dependence of RL and lung elastance (EL).

The MCh-induced changes in the parameters obtained in the present study during iv administration suggest the same phenomenon: the entire increase in G during iv challenge is likely to be artifactual and can be attributed solely to inhomogenous airway constriction. Alternatively, it may be assumed that the lack of change in one of the primary determinants of tissue mechanics (H) was accompanied by increases in eta , the other primary tissue parameter (5), and this was reflected by the elevated values of G (= eta H). Although our supplementary measurements with different resident gases (Fig. 5) substantiate that peripheral airway inhomogeneity was the major contributor to the increase in G (and eta ), we cannot exclude the possible involvement of an altered tissue hysteresivity.

The notion of pure airway constriction in response to an iv MCh challenge is somewhat surprising and contradicts all of the previous studies. In the same rat strain that we used in the present study, Nagase et al. (18) partitioned airway and lung tissue responses to an iv MCh challenge. They used alveolar capsules and multilinear regression analysis of the airway opening pressure, tracheal airflow, and PA signals during mechanical ventilation to calculate lung mechanics and found approximately five- and threefold elevations in Rti and EL, respectively. Similar results were reported in guinea pigs by Ingenito et al. (13), who calculated the enclosed area of the pressure-volume curves seen at the airway opening and in alveolar capsules. However, when the dose of iv-administered MCh was restricted to modest levels, Salerno et al. (23) reported a fundamentally different tissue response in Brown Norway rats. They found that Rti approximately doubled, whereas the highest increase in EL was <20%. Similarly, Sato et al. (24) reported that Rti was doubled after an iv bolus of MCh in dogs, whereas the increase in EL was 30-50%. In addition to methodological differences between those reports and the present study (tidal ventilation vs. small-amplitude oscillation at functional residual capacity), it should also be pointed out that we use a frequency-independent elastance coefficient (H), whereas the EL values reported above were effective elastances calculated at respiratory frequencies. Indeed, the EL values calculated from our XL data at 1.75 Hz (a frequency typically applied in rat studies with alveolar capsules) revealed dose-dependent increases in EL, reaching statistically significant levels during 8 (26 ± 11%, P < 0.05) and 16 µg · kg-1 · min-1 (91 ± 58%, P < 0.05) MCh infusions. As pointed out by Lutchen et al. (15), this discrepancy between the MCh-induced changes in EL and H can be attributed to the phenomenon that peripheral airway inhomogeneities leading to increases in G may also increase the positive frequency dependence of the effective EL, whereas the intrinsic elastic and resistive properties of the tissues do not change.

Aerosol challenge. The aerosol administration of MCh results in a similar pattern of change in the airway parameters to that observed during iv challenge. Therefore, the above considerations allow the conclusion that constriction occurred in the peripheral airways. We additionally found consistent and significant increases in both G and H, although those in G were always higher than those in H. Accordingly, consistent and significant elevations were found in eta . The elevations in G can either be explained on the basis of changes in intrinsic tissue properties (5) or, to some extent, can be attributed to increased peripheral inhomogeneities (3, 11, 15, 17). The results of our NeOx experiments during an aerosolized MCh challenge indeed confirm that the estimation of G is influenced by inhomogeneities. Nevertheless, the dose-dependent elevations in H suggest that aerosolized MCh induced constriction in both the airways and the parenchyma. This finding is fully consistent with previous reports documenting parenchymal responses to an aerosolized MCh challenge, in which the separation of airway and tissue properties was accomplished by alveolar capsules (18, 21, 22, 27).

Reasons for Different Patterns With iv and Aerosol Challenge

A possible explanation for the different patterns of response of the lung, depending on the route of delivery, is that MCh acts on different structures when delivered by inhalation or iv. MCh produces a muscle contraction by stimulating the muscarinic cholinergic receptors (2). Sly et al. (25) investigated the role of the muscarinic receptors in puppies and reported that different receptors may be involved in producing airway and parenchymal constriction to inhaled MCh. M3 receptors located on the airway smooth muscle, which are likely to be responsible for airway responses, may be more easily reached by iv-delivered MCh, whereas MCh delivered by aerosol has to diffuse across the respiratory epithelium before reaching the muscle. On the other hand, M1 receptors in the alveolar wall, which were reported to be involved in the parenchymal response (25), are likely to be reached more easily by aerosol delivery than by iv delivery. Under this scenario, it may be expected that an MCh infusion, delivered preferentially to the airway smooth muscle, will produce primarily airway constriction, whereas aerosolized MCh, delivered to the alveoli, will increase the tissue elastic and dissipative properties, as well as increasing Raw if the delivered dose is high enough. Several studies, performed in various species, have reported that the pulmonary tissues are more sensitive than the airways to aerosolized MCh (18, 27). Because the presence and the location of the muscarinic subtype receptors have been shown to be species dependent (2), this mechanism may also explain the apparent species difference in the MCh responsiveness of the airways and the parenchyma.

In an attempt to examine the mechanisms that give rise to an increase in Rti during MCh challenge, Nagase et al. (18) partitioned the response of the airways and the parenchyma after iv and aerosol administration of the agent by using alveolar capsules. They hypothesized that direct administration of the contractile agonist into the circulation should stimulate both the airway and parenchymal compartments homogeneously, whereas aerosol delivery would be likely to result in a heterogeneous airway response. Presenting histological evidence, they interpreted the higher increase in Rti after aerosol challenge as being due to the excessive tissue distortion, induced by heterogeneous constriction of the peripheral airways. However, in contrast to our result, they found a significant increase in the parenchymal elastance after MCh infusion. Another possible interpretation of our results is that MCh induced solely airway responses, regardless of the route of delivery. After an aerosol challenge, the uneven distribution of the particles around the bronchial tree could induce a heterogeneous peripheral airway response. This mechanism has been shown to generate a significant tissue distortion, i.e., the more sensitive regions or those regions to which the delivery is greater can be extremely constricted or even atelectatic, whereas adjacent regions can be hyperinflated (18). Obviously, this regional diversity after an aerosol challenge may significantly influence the estimation of the parenchymal mechanics by alveolar capsules because the sampling of the alveolar region is highly nonrepresentative and limited to subpleural areas. Should it occur to a significant degree, this phenomenon may also bias our parenchymal parameters, measured from the airway opening, in the following manner. The development of atelectatic regions may decrease the effective lung volume, resulting in increases in both Rti and EL (1). Additionally, hyperinflated regions adjacent to atelectatic areas can shift the operating volume of the working parenchyma toward its maximal volume, which would further increase the overall Rti and EL (1, 10, 28). The above analysis indicates that the apparent tissue constriction observed after aerosolized MCh could be produced by the excessive parenchymal distortion induced by an inhomogenous response of the peripheral airways, especially at extreme levels of constriction (that were probably not reached in the present investigations).

In summary, the results of the present study have demonstrated that airway and parenchymal responses to MCh in the rat can be partitioned on the basis of low-frequency ZL data. The changing pattern of the airway and tissue parameters indicates that the predominant site of action of MCh depends on the route of delivery. An iv MCh infusion induced purely airway constriction, whereas aerosolized MCh administration gave rise to constriction both in the airways and in the parenchyma. Although it is possible that the latter effects could be produced by a highly inhomogeneous constriction of the peripheral airways that led to a loss in lung volume, true differences in airway and tissue responses to MCh, possibly acting via different receptors, also seem very likely.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Grant 960167 and the Hungarian Basic Research Fund (OTKA T016308).


FOOTNOTES

Address for reprint requests: Z. Hantos, Dept. of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical Univ., PO Box 2009, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary.

Received 16 August 1996; accepted in final form 15 January 1997.


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0161-7567/97 $5.00 Copyright © 1997 the American Physiological Society



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