[Effect of the products released from the activated human neutrophils and endotoxin on bovine pulmonary endothelial cells].

The endothelial cells of pulmonary blood vessel play an significant role in lung vessel permeability, especially in acute lung damage and adult respiratory distress syndrome. In this study, bovine pulmonary endothelial cells were isolated, cultured and identified by means of reverse microscopic, scanning electromicroscopic, transmission electro- microscopic and immunofluorescence microscopic observation. Then they were labeled with 51Cr. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), H2O2 with catalase, xanthine oxidase (XO) with hypoxanthine (HX), human neutrophil elastase (HNE), cathepsin-G (C-G) and endotoxin (ET) were incubated with the labeled cells for half hour in various experimental groups respectively. The amount of 51Cr in the suspension released from the damaged cells was counted with r-radiometer. The results show that HNE, ET, H2O2 and superoxide anion (the latter is produced from the reaction between XO and HX) could at some degree damage the membrane of endothelial cells, and the inflammatory mediators of human neutrophils might play an important role in the development of pulmonary edema.