The alveolar epithelium is directly exposed to variations in alveolar O2 tension in response to many physiological or pathological conditions. For example, alveolar hypoxia may be the consequence of obstructive airway diseases, or pulmonary edema from heart failure or acute lung injury. Although the alveolar epithelium is directly exposed during hypoxia, limited information has been obtained about the effects of low O2 tension on alveolar epithelial cell functions. In the previous cycle of this proposal, we reported that hypoxia causes significant remodeling of the alveolar epithelial cytoskeleton. In particular, we observed that hypoxia initiates rapid and localized restructuring of the keratin intermediate filament network and interacted with multiple signal transduction pathways which permits the keratin network to be involved in an intimate crosstalk with many aspects of cell behavior including migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. This proposal will develop the hypothesis that keratin intermediate filaments can dynamically respond to low O2 tension by initiating a cytoprotective reorganization of the network that is mediated by changes in the phosphorylation state of keratin 8 and 18. We have formulated three interrelated specific aims to study the hypoxia-induced regulation of keratin IFs in the alveolar epithelium.
Specific Aim #1. To identify the in vivo phosphorylation sites in keratin 8 and 18 involved in the hypoxia-mediated restructuring of the keratin intermediate filament network in alveolar epithelial cells.
Specific Aim #2. To determine whether reconstituting wild-type or phospho-mutant keratin proteins in alveolar epithelial cells and in keratin knockout mice restores alveolar epithelial function.
Specific Aim #3. To determine whether hypoxia inducible factor is required for the hypoxia-mediated transcriptional regulation of keratin 8 and/or keratin 18 genes in alveolar epithelial cells. The purpose of this proposal is to test the hypothesis that hypoxia regulates the state of phosphorylation of K8 and K18 proteins, which mediates the assembly dynamics and micromechanical properties of the KIF network. The KIF network plays an important contributory role to the cellular integrity of alveolar epithelial cells. The proposed experiments will determine the molecular mechanisms that regulate the hypoxia mediated reorganization and/or disassembly of keratin IFs. The consequences of this reorganization on alveolar epithelial function will be examined both in vitro and in vivo using primary ATII cells, wild-type and keratin-deficient mice. Completion of the proposed studies will provide novel insights on the role of keratin IF in the pathogenesis of hypoxia-induced alveolar epithelial dysfunction, which is of biological and physiological importance in patients with pulmonary edema.

Public Health Relevance

In many tissues, maintenance of normal cell function during hypoxia depends on the ability of the cells to develop adaptive strategies to overcome O2 deprivation. This proposal will develop the hypothesis that keratin intermediate filaments, which are proteins expressed in alveolar epithelial cells, can dynamically respond to low O2 tension by initiating a cytoprotective reorganization of the network.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01HL079190-06
Application #
7987435
Study Section
Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling Study Section (LIRR)
Program Officer
Harabin, Andrea L
Project Start
2005-02-01
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2010-09-30
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$376,145
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005436803
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60611
Misharin, Alexander V; Morales-Nebreda, Luisa; Reyfman, Paul A et al. (2017) Monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages drive lung fibrosis and persist in the lung over the life span. J Exp Med 214:2387-2404
Bharat, Ankit; Bhorade, Sangeeta M; Morales-Nebreda, Luisa et al. (2016) Flow Cytometry Reveals Similarities Between Lung Macrophages in Humans and Mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 54:147-9
Coates, Bria M; Staricha, Kelly L; Wiese, Kristin M et al. (2015) Influenza A Virus Infection, Innate Immunity, and Childhood. JAMA Pediatr 169:956-63
Arvanitis, Constadina; Khuon, Satya; Spann, Rachel et al. (2014) Structure and biomechanics of the endothelial transcellular circumferential invasion array in tumor invasion. PLoS One 9:e89758
Weisel, Friederike Christine; Kloepping, Christina; Pichl, Alexandra et al. (2014) Impact of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase 1 on pulmonary vascular remodeling. Circulation 129:1510-23
Kim, Seok-Jo; Cheresh, Paul; Williams, David et al. (2014) Mitochondria-targeted Ogg1 and aconitase-2 prevent oxidant-induced mitochondrial DNA damage in alveolar epithelial cells. J Biol Chem 289:6165-76
Kidd, Martha E; Shumaker, Dale K; Ridge, Karen M (2014) The role of vimentin intermediate filaments in the progression of lung cancer. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 50:1-6
dos Santos, Gimena; Kutuzov, Mikhail A; Ridge, Karen M (2012) The inflammasome in lung diseases. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 303:L627-33
Rogel, Micah R; Soni, Pritin N; Troken, James R et al. (2011) Vimentin is sufficient and required for wound repair and remodeling in alveolar epithelial cells. FASEB J 25:3873-83
Rogel, Micah R; Jaitovich, Ariel; Ridge, Karen M (2010) The role of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in keratin intermediate filament protein degradation. Proc Am Thorac Soc 7:71-6

Showing the most recent 10 out of 14 publications