Introduction Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways, involving oxidative stress. well as total glutathione (reduced and oxidized) and oxidized glutathione in BALF. Protein S-glutathionylation levels were attenuated at 24 h, with significant increases in Glrx1 levels in lung tissues at 48 and 72 h. Glrx1 in alveolar macrophages was induced after 6 h. Glrx1 levels concomitantly increased with Th2/NF-B-related cytokines and chemokines in BALF. Conclusions The temporal relationships of Glrx1 with protein S-glutathionylation, glutathione, and cytokines/chemokines were observed as dynamic changes in lungs with allergic airway inflammation, suggesting that Glrx1 and proteinCSSG redox status may play important roles in the development of allergic airway inflammation. Introduction Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways caused by exposure to various allergens and chemical irritants in susceptible subjects. Oxidative stress is thought to play a pathophysiological role in 1837-91-8 supplier the disease by causing damage to airway epithelial cells, leading to airway hyperresponsiveness 1837-91-8 supplier and airflow limitation. The tripeptide glutathione (GSH; l–glutamyl-l-cysteinyl-glycine), which is highly abundant in cells and lung epithelial lining fluid, acts as an antioxidant and plays a major role in maintaining overall redox homeostasis. Agents that cause oxidative stress are known to decrease the ratio of reduced GSH to oxidized glutathione (glutathione disulfide or GSSG). Elevated levels of GSSG can be considered a marker of oxidative stress, whereas increased total or reduced GSH levels can be Rabbit Polyclonal to A1BG regarded as an adaptive response to increased oxidative burden in the lungs [1C3]. As an antioxidant, GSH might conjugate with reactive cysteines in proteins under conditions of oxidative stress. This posttranslational modification is termed variously as protein S-glutathionylation (proteinSSG), S-glutathiolation, or protein mixed disulfides. ProteinSSG modifications change the structure and function of proteins in a reversible and tightly regulated manner. ProteinSSG disrupts the function of nuclear factor B (NF-B) [4, 5], which is an important transcription factor that regulates allergic airway inflammation [6C8]. Mammalian glutaredoxin enzymes are members of the thioredoxin family of thiol transferases. Glutaredoxin specifically catalyzes de-glutathionylation under physiological conditions, which restores the reduced sulfhydryl groups of the cysteines of proteins [3, 9, 10]. The mRNA and protein expression, as well as activity, of glutaredoxin 1 (Glrx1) were found to increase in lung tissues from mice with ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway inflammation [11]. However, the temporal relationship between levels of Glrx1 and proteinSSG in the lungs of a murine model after OVA challenge remains unclear. Furthermore, although the kinetics of helper T cell type 2 (Th2) cytokines in BALF after OVA challenge have been reported [12], the temporal relationship between cytokines and Glrx1 has not been investigated. The goal of the present study was to investigate the temporal relationships of Glrx1 with proteinSSG, glutathione, and Th2/NF-B-related cytokines/chemokines using a well-characterized model of OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation. Understanding such temporal relationships is important to clarify the cascade of various molecules during the course of an asthma attack. This might provide clues to break the vicious cycle. Materials and Methods Study animals All animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Research at Hokkaido University (11C0084). Female BALB/c mice (aged 6C7 weeks) were purchased from CLEA Japan (Tokyo, Japan). All mice were housed in plastic chambers with free access to food and water. Experimental design For induction of experimental allergic lung disease, sensitization and challenges were performed according to a 1837-91-8 supplier previously 1837-91-8 supplier published method [13] with some modifications. Briefly, mice were immunized intraperitoneally with 200 L phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 50 g OVA (Grade V; Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) plus 4.0 mg aluminum hydroxide adjuvant (Imject Alum; Thermo Scientific, Rockford, IL) on days 0 and 7. Mice (5 per group) were challenged with inhaled allergen (2.5% OVA in PBS) for 20 min or with PBS alone (control group) on days 21, 22, and 23. For this procedure, mice were placed in a plastic chamber (40 25 13 cm) and administered the OVA solution via an ultrasonic nebulizer (NE-U17; Omron Healthcare, Kyoto, Japan). The mice were euthanized with an overdose of ketamine and xylazine for the collection of BALF and lung tissues at 6, 24, 48,.