Life Sciences Commons^™

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection frequently complicates lung injury and can be fatal in immunocompromised or debilitated individuals. Previous studies from our laboratory indicate that elastase from P. aeruginosa increases epithelial permeability by disrupting tight junctions between epithelial cells. Because the inflammatory reaction of the host is a prominent feature of bacterial infection, we reasoned that additional virulence factors from this organism could extend and augment the initial pulmonary injury by prompting accumulation of neutrophils. To test this hypothesis, we compared responses of guinea pigs to aerosols of elastase (PE) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from P. aeruginosa. After each treatment, we measured epithelial …