CYTOKINE-INDUCED NEUTROPHIL CHEMOATTRACTANT PRODUCTION BY PRIMARY RATALVEOLAR TYPE-II CELLS

This study was designed to determine the production of the chemokine c ytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) by primary rat alveo lar type II (ATII) cells upon stimulation with exogenous and endogenou s proinflammatory factors. Cultures of primary rat ATII cells were exp osed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) or tu mor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) over a 16 hour period and the pr oduction of CINC both apically and basolaterally was measured by ELISA . Compared to unstimulated (UNS) cultures, LPS, IL-1 beta and TNF alph a were found to significantly increase the level of CINC detected in c ulture by two, four and sixteen hours post stimulation, respectively. ATII cells also demonstrated a polar secretion of CINC. The accumulati on of CINC basolaterally was significantly more than apically; 133%, 4 5%, 117% and 123% for UNS, IL-1 beta, LPS and TNF alpha respectively. We demonstrated that primary rat ATII cells may participate in the che mokine network during inflammation by the production of CINC upon stim ulation with endogenous and exogenous factors.