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J Appl Physiol 87: 776-782, 1999;
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Vol. 87, Issue 2, 776-782, August 1999

Apocynin improves diaphragmatic function after endotoxin administration

G. Supinski1, D. Stofan2, D. Nethery2, L. Szweda2, and A. DiMarco2

1 Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland 44109; and 2 Pulmonary Division, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106


    ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

Free radicals are known to play an important role in modulating the development of respiratory muscle dysfunction during sepsis. Moreover, neutrophil numbers increase in the diaphragm after endotoxin administration. Whether or not superoxide derived from infiltrating white blood cells contributes to muscle dysfunction during sepsis is, however, unknown. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of apocynin, an inhibitor of the superoxide-generating neutrophil NADPH complex, on endotoxin-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction. We studied groups of rats given saline, endotoxin, apocynin, or both endotoxin and apocynin. Animals were killed 18 h after injection, a portion of the diaphragm was used to assess force generation, and the remaining diaphragm was used for determination of 4-hydroxynonenal (a marker of lipid peroxidation) and nitrotyrosine levels (a marker of free radical-mediated protein modification). We found that endotoxin reduced diaphragm force generation and that apocynin partially prevented this decrease [e.g., force in response to 20 Hz was 23 ± 1 (SE), 12 ± 2, 23 ± 1, and 19 ± 1 N/cm2, respectively, for saline, endotoxin, apocynin, and endotoxin/apocynin groups; P < 0.001]. Apocynin also prevented endotoxin-mediated increases in diaphragm 4-hydroxynonenal and nitrotyrosine levels (P < 0.01). These data suggest that neutrophil-derived free radicals contribute to diaphragmatic dysfunction during sepsis.

free radicals; skeletal muscle; diaphragm; respiratory muscles


    INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

A NUMBER OF RECENT STUDIES have indicated that free radicals play an important role in modulating the induction of respiratory muscle dysfunction during endotoxin-induced sepsis (10, 13, 14, 17). In the first of these studies, Shindoh et al. (10) demonstrated that endotoxin administration to hamsters was associated with both the development of contractile dysfunction and an increase in lipid peroxidation within the diaphragm. In addition, these investigators found that administration of polyethylene glycol-superoxide dismutase (a free radical scavenger) attenuated both the diaphragmatic contractile dysfunction and lipid peroxidation induced by endotoxin (10). In subsequent reports, it has been demonstrated that administration of a number of other free radical scavengers (e.g., N-acetylcysteine, catalase, dimethylsulfoxide) also protects the diaphragm from the development of endotoxin-mediated respiratory muscle dysfunction and lipid peroxidation (13, 14, 17).

The source of the oxygen-derived free radicals responsible for altering respiratory muscle dysfunction after endotoxin administration has not, however, been determined. One possibility is that diaphragmatic constituents (i.e., myocytes, endothelial cells) are altered in such a way after endotoxin administration that these cells generate free radicals, and the diaphragm, in effect, is damaged by its own metabolic by-products. Another possibility is that activated white blood cells in the diaphragm vasculature or interstitium provide an exogenous source of damaging free radicals. In support of this latter possibility, we have recently shown that both intravascular and interstitial neutrophil numbers are markedly increased in the diaphragm after endotoxin administration (15).

If white blood cells play a role in mediating free radical-related diaphragmatic dysfunction after endotoxin administration, then agents that inhibit white cell free radical formation should, in theory, also reduce endotoxin-mediated diaphragmatic dysfunction. The purpose of the present study was to test this hypothesis by examining the effect of apocynin, an inhibitor of the neutrophil cell surface NADPH oxidase complex, on endotoxin-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction (6, 11). We studied groups of rats given saline, endotoxin, apocynin, or both endotoxin and apocynin. Animals were killed 18 h after injection of these substances, and a portion of the diaphragm was used to assess muscle physiology. The remaining diaphragm was examined for white cell infiltration (by using histochemical techniques), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) formation (a marker of lipid peroxidation), and nitrotyrosine formation (a marker of free radical-mediated protein modification).


    METHODS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

Protocol. Studies were performed on muscles taken from 25 adult (~6-mo-old) male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 400-500 g, which were cared for in the Case Western Reserve University Animal Resource Center in accordance with Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care guidelines. Diaphragms were studied from animals assigned to one of four groups: 1) a control group of animals that received a 1-ml intraperitoneal injection of saline 18 h before death, 2) a group that received 1 ml of saline containing 8 mg/kg endotoxin intraperitoneally 18 h before death, 3) a group that received an intraperitoneal injection of 4 mg/kg apocynin in 1 ml of saline 18 h before death, and 4) a group that received a mixture of both apocynin and endotoxin as an intraperitoneal injection 18 h before death. All groups also received a subcutaneous fluid bolus of 4 ml/kg 18 h before death (to minimize dehydration).

At the time of study, rats were anesthetized with inhalational halothane and then decapitated by means of a small animal guillotine (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA). Animals were subsequently positioned on a dissecting board, the chest and abdomen were opened, and the diaphragm was removed and divided. The left hemidiaphragm was placed in a petri dish containing oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit solution (pH 7.4) within 1 min of death. The right hemidiaphragm was divided in half, and one portion was quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70°C for subsequent immunoblot analysis. The remaining portion of the right hemidiaphragm was fixed overnight with 4% paraformaldehyde in 0.1 mM cacodylic buffer (pH 7.4). The paraformaldehyde-fixed samples were embedded in OCT resin, frozen in liquid nitrogen-cooled isopentane, and stored for later histological examination.

Diaphragmatic force-generating capacity. Small fiber bundle strips were dissected from the left hemidiaphragm for the purpose of assessing diaphragm force-generating capacity (15). When this dissection was performed, care was taken both to include the central tendinous portion of the diaphragm and also to include that portion of the ribs into which the diaphragm strip inserted. Muscle strips were then mounted vertically in a water-jacketed organ bath (Radnotti Glass, Monrovia, CA) filled with oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 50 mM curare (pH.7.4 at 27°C). The rib end of each strip was attached to a hook at the bottom of the bath, whereas the central tendon end of each strip was tied to a metal rod connected to a vertically adjustable force transducer (Grass FT 10) fixed above the organ bath. A platinum mesh field electrode was placed on either side of each muscle strip, and these electrodes were connected to a constant-current amplifier (Biomedical Technology, Cleveland, OH) attached to a Grass S-48 stimulator.

Muscle strip length was then adjusted to optimum length (i.e., that length resulting in maximal force output), and current was adjusted to a supramaximal level (i.e., to 120% of the current required to attain maximal twitch force generation). Muscle strips were then allowed to equilibrate for a period of 10 min before the assessment of diaphragm force-generating capacity. After this equilibration period, twitch kinetics were assessed, and diaphragms were then sequentially stimulated with trains (800-ms duration) of 1-, 10-, 20-, 50-, and 100-Hz stimuli with a 5-s rest between adjacent trains. After an additional 30-s rest, each muscle strip underwent a 5-min repetitive stimulation trial (a test to assess muscle fatigability), consisting of contraction in response to trains of 20-Hz stimuli, with a train duration of 500 ms and a train rate of 15/min. Diaphragm strip length and weight were recorded after each experiment and used to normalize muscle force to cross-sectional area (4).

Detection of white blood cells. To assess neutrophil infiltration into the diaphragm, ultrathin muscle sections (4 µm) were made from OCT-embedded diaphragm samples by using a cryostat cooled to -20°C. These cross sections were then stained for white blood cells by using Leukostat staining solutions (Fisher Scientific) (18). Cross sections were then viewed under oil immersion at ×100 magnification, and white blood cells were counted in 30 random fields per section. The location (intravascular or extravascular) of each white blood cell was also recorded.

Assessment of lipid peroxidation and protein nitrosylation. Lipid peroxidation and protein nitrosylation within the diaphragm were assessed by using immunoblot techniques (18-20). To assess lipid peroxidation, we quantified tissue levels of 4-HNE using rabbit polyclonal anti-4-HNE antibodies (supplied by Dr. L. Szweda, Case Western Reserve Univ.). To assess formation of nitrotyrosine, a reaction product of peroxynitrite with tyrosine residues in proteins, diaphragm muscle homogenates were incubated with rabbit polyclonal anti-nitrotyrosine antibodies (Upstate Biochemistry, Lake Placid, NY). The following is a description of this technique.

First, diaphragm muscle samples were vigorously homogenized in ice-cold 62.5 mM Tris buffer (pH 6.8) at 1:1 (wt/vol). The protein content of each homogenate was measured (Bio-Rad protein assay), and homogenate volume was adjusted so as to achieve a protein concentration of 0.5 mg/1 ml. After this step, all procedures were performed in duplicate. We next applied aliquots of tissue homogenates containing 50 µg of protein to freshly washed nitrocellulose membranes and allowed these samples to dry, leaving proteins bound to membranes. Blotted membranes were then washed with 5% milk in Tris-buffered saline (TBS) for 1 h with constant agitation to block nonspecific protein binding. After blocking, membranes were washed an additional two times in TBS. Membranes were incubated overnight with agitation and at 4°C in TBS and milk containing either anti-4-HNE polyclonal IgG (1:500) or anti-nitrotyrosine polyclonal IgG (at 2 µg/ml). Membranes were then washed twice in TBS and then incubated for 1.5 h with secondary antibodies (goat anti-rabbit) conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. After the membranes were repeatedly washed in TBS, 4-HNE and nitrotyrosine antibody staining was visualized by developing the membranes in a horseradish peroxidase detection solution (Calbiochem, La Jolla, CA) for 15 min. Immunoblotted membranes were allowed to dry, membrane images were then digitized by using a flatbed scanner, and scanned images were stored in a computer for later quantitative analysis. The average intensity of each individual blot was measured by using densitometry software (Sigma Scan Image, Jandel, San Rafael, CA); nonspecific background shading was subtracted when this image analysis was performed. The average densitometric intensity of each sample was expressed as a ratio to sample protein content, and this value was used as an index of 4-HNE or nitrotyrosine formation (depending on which antibody was used in a given assessment) in tissue samples.

Statistical analysis. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare single variables across animal groups, with post hoc testing used to determine statistical differences between individual groups.

A repeated-measures ANOVA was used for comparisons in which repeated measurements of a given variable were made under different conditions (e.g., force-frequency curves from different groups).

Data are presented as means ± 1 SE. A P value < 0.05 was taken to indicate statistical significance.


    RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

Force production by in vitro diaphragm strips. Diaphragm twitch contraction time was not affected by either endotoxin or apocynin administration, as shown in Table 1. Similarly, twitch relaxation time was also similar across the four experimental groups (Table 1).

                              
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Table 1.   Diaphragm twitch kinetics

In contrast, force generation of muscles from endotoxin-treated animals was markedly reduced compared with the forces generated by diaphragms from saline-treated control animals (Fig. 1). Proportionately similar endotoxin-induced reductions in diaphragm force generation were observed over the entire range of stimulation frequencies tested (1-100 Hz). Specifically, forces generated by the endotoxin-treated group in response to 1-Hz stimulus trains were 66% of control, whereas forces generated in response to 50-Hz stimulation for muscles from endotoxin-treated animals averaged 73% of that seen in control animals. Apocynin administration partially prevented these endotoxin-mediated reductions in diaphragm force generation, preventing 95% of the endotoxin-related reduction in 1-Hz force and preventing 71% of the force reduction seen at 50 Hz. Muscles taken from animals treated with apocynin alone had force-frequency curves similar to those of saline-treated control animals.


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Fig. 1.   Force-frequency relationships for in vitro diaphragm muscle strips taken from control animals (open circle ), endotoxin-treated animals (), apocynin-treated animals (down-triangle), and animals given both endotoxin and apocynin (black-down-triangle ). Error bars indicate 1 SE.

Force fell at approximately the same relative rate during in vitro repetitive contraction trials performed on diaphragm muscle strips taken from the four groups of animals. Specifically, the final force at the end of these trials, taken as a percentage of the initial force, was 30 ± 4, 26 ± 5, 37 ± 2, and 28 ± 6%, respectively, for saline-treated control, endotoxin-treated, apocynin-treated, and endotoxin/apocynin-treated groups. Absolute force over time for repetitive contraction trials performed on control, apocynin-treated, and endotoxin/apocynin-treated groups was also similar over time. Absolute force at every point in time for the group given endotoxin alone was, however, lower than the force generated by the other three groups (as would be expected based on the force-frequency relationship shown in Fig. 1; P < 0.001 for comparison of absolute force over time for the endotoxin-treated group compared with the other three groups of experiments). For example, the initial force for the endotoxin group was 10.2 ± 1.6 N/cm2, compared with a value of 20.5 ± 0.8 N/cm2 for the control group, and the final force for the endotoxin group was 2.5 ± 0.4 N/cm2, compared with a value of 6.0 ± 0.9 N/cm2 for the control group.

Quantification of diaphragm white cell numbers. There were virtually no white blood cells found in extravascular regions of diaphragms taken from saline-treated control animals and only a small number of intravascular white blood cells in tissue sections from this group. In contrast, white blood cells were readily found in the perivascular regions of muscles taken from endotoxin-treated animals (see Figs. 2 and 3), and somewhat higher numbers of intravascular white blood cells were also found in diaphragms of endotoxin-treated animals compared with saline-treated controls. On average, total white cell numbers (i.e., the sum of intra- and extravascular white blood cells) were fivefold greater for endotoxin- compared with saline-treated animals (P < 0.001), and the extravascular white cell number was 27-fold greater for the endotoxin group compared with the saline group (P < 0.002).


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Fig. 2.   Representative histological diaphragm cross section taken from an endotoxin-treated animal and stained for white blood cells. Arrow points to 1 of white blood cells present in this muscle section.



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Fig. 3.   White blood cell no. in histological sections of diaphragm taken from 4 experimental groups was quantitated by counting no. of white blood cells present in 30 random high-power fields. A: mean data for total no. of white blood cells in 30 high-power fields (i.e., this includes both white blood cells seen within vascular lumens and white blood cells seen outside of vascular spaces). B: mean data for no. of extravascular white blood cells seen in 30 high-power fields. Error bars indicate 1 SE.

Perivascular and intravascular white blood cell numbers for diaphragms from animals given both apocynin and endotoxin were intermediate between values for saline-treated controls and the endotoxin-treated group. On average, the total white blood cell number for diaphragms from the apocynin/endotoxin-treated group was threefold greater than that of the saline-treated group but only 56% of the total for the endotoxin-treated group (P < 0.013). Perivascular white blood cell number for apocynin/endotoxin group diaphragms was sevenfold greater than that for the saline-treated group (P < 0.010) but was 29% of the total for the endotoxin group.

Lipid peroxidation and protein nitrosylation in the diaphragm. Both 4-HNE and nitrotyrosine concentrations were increased for diaphragms from endotoxin-treated animals compared with saline-treated controls (see Figs. 4 and 5 for 4-HNE and Figs. 6 and 7 for nitrotyrosine representative example and group mean data, respectively). On average, 4-HNE, an index of lipid peroxidation, was 99% higher in diaphragms of the endotoxin group compared with saline-treated controls, whereas nitrotyrosine, an index of peroxynitrite-mediated protein modification, was 88% higher in the endotoxin group compared with saline controls (P < 0.01). Apocynin administration blunted the effects of endotoxin, reducing nitrotyrosine and 4-HNE to the levels seen in diaphragms from saline-treated control animals (P < 0.001 for comparison of nitrotyrosine levels for apocynin/endotoxin-treated animals and endotoxin-treated animals; P < 0.001 for comparison of 4-HNE levels in these two groups).


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Fig. 4.   Representative immunoblots stained with antibodies against 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). Immunoblots for diaphragm muscle homogenates were taken from control animal, animal given endotoxin (i.e., a septic animal), animal given apocynin alone, and animal given both endotoxin and apocynin. Staining intensity is related to amount of 4-HNE present, with darker blots containing more 4-HNE.



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Fig. 5.   Mean data presenting 4-HNE immunoblot staining intensity for 4 experimental groups (control animals given saline, septic animals given endotoxin, control animals given apocynin alone, and animals given both endotoxin and apocynin).



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Fig. 6.   Representative immunoblots stained with antibodies against nitrotyrosine. See Fig. 4 legend for description of groups.



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Fig. 7.   Mean data presenting nitrotyrosine immunoblot staining intensity for 4 experimental groups. See Fig. 5 legend for description of groups.


    DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

Overview of major findings. This study found that 1) endotoxin administration to rats elicited a reduction in the force-generating capacity of excised diaphragmatic muscle strips; 2) this reduction in force was accompanied by biochemical alterations indicating increased lipid peroxidation in the septic diaphragm and formation of nitrotyrosine side groups, an index of peroxynitrite-mediated protein modification; 3) muscles from endotoxin-treated animals contained increased numbers of white blood cells; 4) administration of apocynin reduced endotoxin-related alterations in force and muscle biochemistry; and 5) white blood cells were also present in the diaphragm of apocynin-treated animals, albeit at lower concentrations than for animals given endotoxin alone.

Comparison with previous studies. A number of previous experiments have examined the relationship between infection and respiratory muscle function. One of the first of these was a study by Hussain et al. (7) that found that endotoxin administration produced a profound reduction in diaphragmatic force-generating capacity. In fact, this study noted that nonventilated dogs given endotoxin developed respiratory failure and subsequently died because of respiratory muscle dysfunction; i.e., diaphragm force-generating capacity became depressed in these animals before significant alterations in lung mechanics developed.

Further investigation by Boczkowski et al. (2) and Shindoh et al. (10) confirmed the fact that endotoxin administration depressed diaphragm contractile function and demonstrated, in addition, that much of this contractile dysfunction could be prevented by giving animals free radical scavengers at the time of endotoxin administration. These latter two studies found that the development of contractile dysfunction was associated with evidence of increased lipid peroxidation in the respiratory muscles and that these lipid biochemical modifications induced by endotoxin administration were also prevented by the administration of free radical scavengers. Additional work has revealed the fact that scavengers of several free radical species (superoxide dismutase, catalase, dimethylsulfoxide, N-acetylcysteine) and inhibitors of nitric oxide synthesis can each inhibit sepsis-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction, suggesting that a number of free radical species (i.e., superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, peroxynitrite anions) may interact to induce endotoxin-related respiratory muscle dysfunction (3, 13, 14).

The present study investigated the possibility that free radical-mediated muscle dysfunction may occur as a consequence of white blood cell infiltration into the diaphragm. Apocynin is a potent inhibitor of the free radical-generating NADPH enzyme complex on the neutrophil surface and has been used previously as a probe to identify the contribution of neutrophil-mediated free radical formation to different forms of tissue injury (6, 11, 20). This agent is thought to ablate white cell free radical generation without inhibiting white cell phagocytosis, exocytosis, or intracellular killing (20) and is thought to act only on activated phagocytes (6, 11). In one recent study, this agent was shown to inhibit white blood cell-mediated lung damage during sepsis (as assessed by examining lung permeability to albumin) at doses similar to those employed in the present study, arguing that in vivo free radical generation by white blood cells is effectively inhibited by this agent at this particular dosage. It should also be noted that we have previously shown that apocynin administration does not alter contraction-related formation of free radicals in the diaphragm, suggesting that this agent does not affect myocyte-specific pathways of free radical formation (8).

In the present work, apocynin administration both produced a degree of protection against the effects of endotoxin on diaphragmatic dysfunction and reduced the degree of endotoxin-related lipid peroxidation (one marker of free radical-mediated alteration of lipid cellular components) and endotoxin-related nitrotyrosine formation in the diaphragm (one marker of free radical-mediated alteration of protein cellular components). Although it is likely that one mechanism by which apocynin produced this effect was by directly preventing neutrophil generation of free radicals in muscle, this agent also markedly reduced migration of white blood cells into the diaphragm. This finding is consistent with previous reports examining white blood cell infiltration into the lung in sepsis and in other tissues during ischemia-reperfusion (5, 20). Specifically, Wang et al. (20) found that apocynin administration inhibited movement of white blood cells into the guinea pig lung during endotoxin-induced sepsis. The mechanism by which white blood cells move into tissue during sepsis appears to be due to three processes: 1) cytokine-mediated effects on endothelium to increase expression of adhesion molecules, 2) cytokine effects to activate white blood cells and potentiate white cell adhesion and diapedesis, and 3) an effect of free radicals to amplify the first two processes (20). The third factor acts, essentially, as a "positive feedback" loop, with an initial white cell free radical release leading to additional white cell recruitment and additional free radical formation (20). Apocynin is thought to inhibit white blood cell recruitment by preventing this third process, i.e., reducing neutrophil-mediated alterations in endothelium, subsequently reducing white blood cell attachment and infiltration (20).

Comparison with limb muscle studies. The present report is the first to identify a potential role for white blood cells in mediating respiratory muscle dysfunction in sepsis. Whereas no previous study has examined the effects of apocynin in limb muscle, several reports have provided evidence that white blood cells may contribute to the induction of limb muscle functional derangements in sepsis and other pathophysiological states (5, 12). A few reports have presented evidence of neutrophil accumulation in limb muscles during systemic bacterial infections (9). Neutrophil infiltration also appears to be a contributor to the development of limb muscle injury after periods of ischemia-reperfusion (12). In this latter condition, tissue myeloperoxidase concentrations (a marker of white cell degranulation) were found to be increased after ischemia-reperfusion, with a correlation between tissue myeloperoxidase levels and the degree of tissue injury. The "late" phase of muscle damage seen after bouts of eccentric exercise also appears to be modulated, at least in part, by neutrophil infiltration (1).

Interaction between free radical-generating pathways in sepsis. The present findings suggest that an appreciable component of endotoxin-induced respiratory muscle dysfunction is due to free radicals generated by an apocynin-sensitive NADPH complex. We believe that our findings cannot be explained by an effect of apocynin to block myocyte-derived free radical formation because 1) we have previously shown that apocynin administration does not alter contraction-related formation of free radicals in the diaphragm (8), and 2) in recent work (unpublished observations), we have found that there is heightened free radical formation by the mitochondria of both diaphragm myocytes and sepsis that cannot be reduced by administration of agents that inhibit NADPH oxidase. We, therefore, believe that the present findings are most consistent with an effect of apocynin to inhibit white blood cell-mediated free radical formation.

We should emphasize, however, that the present findings do not preclude the participation of multiple pathways of free radical formation to respiratory muscle dysfunction in sepsis. In fact, a number of other sources of radical species have been reported. For example, it is known that endotoxin administration causes cytokine-mediated increases in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) levels in the respiratory muscles (2), and it is possible that heightened nitric oxide formation leads to peroxynitrite formation and tissue damage, in part, by this latter mechanism.

In addition, we have also shown that diaphragmatic muscles taken from septic muscles contracting in vitro generate greater levels of reactive oxygen species (i.e., superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide) than do control muscles, indicating that contraction-related free radical generation is upregulated in septic muscles (8). The superoxide anions produced by muscle contraction could, in theory, cause muscle damage either directly or by providing substrate for reactions producing hydroxyl and peroxynitrite anions.

As a result, it appears that free radical production in the diaphragm in sepsis occurs by at least three different mechanisms (an apocynin-sensitive component, free radical generation by contracting myocytes, enhanced nitric oxide formation because of NOS upregulation). It is difficult, at this point, to elucidate the relative contributions of these various pathways. The degree of inhibition of diaphragm dysfunction in the present study was striking (i.e., force at 20 Hz was increased by 90% in animals given apocynin and endotoxin compared with the endotoxin-alone group), but previous reports have indicated that equally striking protection from endotoxin-induced muscle dysfunction can be achieved by administration of either NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (this agent was found to increase 20 Hz force by 90%) or a host of free radical scavengers (i.e., 80% increases have been reported in response to treatment with catalase) (3, 10, 13, 14). Moreover, neither this nor previous studies have examined dose-response relationships for any of these agents; therefore, the maximum potential "benefit" that could accrue by inhibiting various pathways is not known.

It is possible, however, that a synergism exists in terms of cellular damage by free radical species generated by these different mechanisms. It seems possible that free radical species generated by white blood cells may interact with species formed by other mechanisms (e.g., with nitric oxide formed as a consequence of NOS upregulation and free radical species formed during contraction by myocytes) to alter lipid and protein constituents within the diaphragm. For example, in otherwise normal muscle tissue, the superoxide anion levels generated by small numbers of neutrophils may have no appreciable effect on cell function. In the presence of heightened nitric oxide formation due to NOS upregulation, however, superoxide anions generated by the same number of white blood cells could greatly increase peroxynitrite formation and thereby inflict much greater levels of tissue damage. The presence of such synergistic interactions could account for the fact that the effects of endotoxin administration on respiratory muscle function can be blunted by apocynin, NOS inhibitors, or free radical scavengers.


    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants 54825 and 38926.


    FOOTNOTES

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: G. Supinski, Metrohealth Medical Center, 2500 Metrohealth Dr., Cleveland, OH 44109.

Received 29 May 1998; accepted in final form 22 April 1999.


    REFERENCES
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

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10.   Shindoh, C., A. DiMarco, D. Nethery, and G. Supinski. Effect of PEG-superoxide dismutase on the diaphragmatic response to endotoxin. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 145: 1350-1354, 1992[Medline].

11.   Simons, J. M., B. A. Hart, T. Ip Vai Ching, H. van Dijk, and R. P. Labadie. Metabolic activation of natural phenols into selective oxidative burst antagonists by activated human neutrophils. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 8: 251-258, 1990[Medline].

12.   Smith, J. K., M. B. Grisham, D. N. Granger, and R. J. Korthius. Free radical defense mechanisms and neutrophil infiltration in postischemic skeletal muscle. Am. J. Physiol. 256 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 25): H789-H793, 1989[Abstract/Free Full Text].

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J APPL PHYSIOL 87(2):776-782
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