MEASUREMENT OF CROSS-LINKED ELASTIN SYNTHESIS IN BLEOMYCIN-INDUCED PULMONARY FIBROSIS USING A HIGHLY SENSITIVE ASSAY FOR DESMOSINE AND ISODESMOSINE

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 103  (3) , 384-392
Abstract
Cross-linked elastin synthesis was measured in the intratracheal bleomycin [an antineoplastic drug] model of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis [in Syrian hamsters] by incorporation of 14C-lysine into the elastin-specific cross-links desmosine and isodesmosine. Detection of the labeled cross-links was facilitated by development of a highly sensitive assay utilizing thin-layer electrophoresis. Cross-linked elastin synthesis is significantly elevated from controls (P < 0.05) at 1-3 wk after exposure to bleomycin and returns to normal by 5 wk. The increases in labeled elastin synthesis are not directly related to changes in total lung protein synthesis or the pool size of the 14C-lysine. In comparison with collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in this model of lung injury, maximal increases in cross-linked elastin formation occur later, but overlap with the elevated synthesis of these other connective tissue components. The marked increase from normal in cross-linked elastin synthesis in this model suggests that this tissue component is an important part of the fibrotic response of the pulmonary parenchyma and may play a role in the observed alterations in lung structure and function.