thiourea and Pneumonia--Ventilator-Associated

Pneumonia is a major cause of high morbidity and mortality in critically illness, and frequently requires support with mechanical ventilation. The latter can lead to ventilator-induced lung injury characterized by neutrophil infiltration. The cationic human neutrophil peptides (HNP) stored in neutrophils can kill microorganisms, but excessive amount of HNP released during phagocytosis may contribute to inflammatory responses and worsen lung injury. Based on our previous work, we hypothesized that blocking the cell surface purinergic receptor P2Y. Plasma HNP levels were measured in patients with pneumonia who received mechanical ventilation and in healthy volunteers. FVB littermate control and HNP transgenic (HNP. Plasma HNP concentration increased in patients with pneumonia as compared to healthy subjects. The bacterial counts in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were lower in HNP. HNP exerted dual effects by exhibiting antimicrobial activity in pneumonia alone condition while enhancing inflammatory responses in pneumonia followed by HP mechanical ventilation. Blocking P2Y

Topics: Aged; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Humans; Isothiocyanates; Male; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Middle Aged; Neutrophils; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Receptors, Purinergic P2; Thiourea; Treatment Outcome; Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury