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Medical Clinic and Policlinic, Internal Medicine VII, Sports Medicine, University of Heidelberg, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
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| Introduction |
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The clinical picture of mountaineers suffering from HAPE is quite dramatic. Dyspnea, cough, gurgling in the chest, and pink, frothy sputum are observed. At an altitude of 4,559 m, such as at the Capanna Regina Margherita in the Monte Rosa mountain range at the Swiss-Italian border, arterial PO2 typically is ~45 mmHg and arterial SO2 is >75% (16). In HAPE, arterial PO2 can decrease to values <30 mmHg, causing arterial SO2 to drop to <60%. Systolic pulmonary artery pressures of >90 mmHg can been found by Doppler echocardiography (16).
Three mechanisms have been discussed as the cause of HAPE. They are indicated in Fig. 1
, which gives an overview of the structures involved in alveolar fluid balance. Lung water in the interstitium and/or the alveolar space increases 1) when the hydrostatic pressure in lung capillaries is increased due to (inhomogeneous) arterial and/or venous hypoxic vasoconstriction, causing augmented filtration and even rupture of the alveolar barrier (Fig. 1
, left, a), 2) when the permeability of the alveolar wall (capillary endothelium and/or alveolar epithelium) is increased due to inflammatory processes (Fig. 1
, left, b), and 3) in the case of alveolar edema, when the rate of alveolar fluid reabsorption across the alveolar epithelium is insufficient to match fluid filtration into the alveolar space (Fig. 1
, left, c) (1). HAPE can be prevented or treated when mountaineers descend to low altitudes, when they receive oxygen, or when pulmonary capillary pressure is lowered, e.g., with nifedipine (1). Once subjects return to normoxic conditions, edema is rapidly reabsorbed.
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| Alveolar fluid balance |
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Alveolar epithelial cells are responsible for fluid removal from the alveolar space. It has been known for a long time that cultured alveolar type II (ATII) cells, which cover ~5% of the alveolar surface and which are in charge of surfactant secretion and alveolar repair, also have a high transepithelial Na transport capacity (8). Only recently has the presence of transporters involved in transepithelial Na transport also been demonstrated in alveolar type I cells, which form a very thin cell layer that covers ~95% of the alveolar surface (8). Their relative contribution to Na and water reabsorption is not yet known.
Removal of alveolar fluid is strictly coupled to the transport of Na. As in other reabsorptive epithelia, Na enters the cell via various Na transporters in the apical plasma membrane and is extruded by basolaterally located Na/K pumps (Fig. 1
). The major portion of apical Na entry seems to be mediated by amiloride-inhibitable pathways, most likely epithelial Na channels (ENaC) and nonselective Na- and K-permeable cation channels (7). Other means of apical Na entry (Na/X) are Na/H exchange, Na-glucose transporters, and Na-amino acid transporters. The importance of ENaC has been demonstrated on a knockout mouse model (3), where the
-subunit of the ENaC has been removed.
ENaC knockout mice die shortly after birth due to their inability to clear the lung of fluid contained in the alveoli during intrauterine life (3).
Na and water reabsorption across the alveolar epithelium can be stimulated by ß-adrenergic agonists and by glucocorticoids (7, 8), both of which increase the rate of amiloride-sensitive apical Na entry, probably by insertion of endogenous ENaC, by upregulation of ENaC expression, and, in the case of ß-adrenergic agents, also by stimulation of Cl transport (8).
| Effects of hypoxia on alveolar Na transport |
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In the isolated perfused lung, >50% of all fluid reabsorption was found to depend on amiloride-sensitive pathways, and transport can be stimulated by ß-adrenergic agonists (8). Results on effects of hypoxia are controversial. Whereas some studies report no effects of anoxia and hypoxia on the reabsorption of fluid instilled into the lung, others found inhibition by hypoxia that was related to inhibition of Na reabsorption (17). Lung weight gain was accelerated when isolated ventilated and perfused rat lungs were exposed to hypoxia (20). Vivona et al. (17) found a decreased reabsorption of fluid instilled into nonventilated, nonperfused lungs of rats that were exposed to hypoxia. Hypoxic inhibition of fluid reabsorption was prevented when terbutaline was present in instilled fluid (17). Neither hypoxic transport inhibition nor terbutaline stimulation of reabsorption were seen in the presence of amiloride, indicating that these effects depended on Na transport by ENaC. In the isolated, ventilated, and constant pressure-perfused rat lung, ß-adrenergic agents did not prevent lung water accumulation (20). The weight gain of the hypoxic rat lungs was associated with the accumulation of significant amounts of albumin that originated from the perfusate, which indicates the presence of leaks of the alveolar barrier large enough to allow macromolecules to penetrate (20).
Hypoxic pulmonary edema has also been studied in vivo in animal models. Stelzner et al. (15) reported hypoxia-induced permeability edema in rats that could be prevented by treatment with glucocorticoids. Vivona et al. (17) also reported an increased wet-to-dry-weight ratio in rats exposed to hypoxia (8% O2), which Wodopia et al. (19) did not see at more moderate levels of hypoxia (10 to 14% O2). Lungs of
ENaC knockout mice after partial gene recovery contained a decreased number of copies of ENaC (14). In contrast to the
ENaC knockout mice (3), these animals were able to clear alveolar fluid after birth. However, they developed pulmonary edema when exposed to hypoxia (8% O2) for 72 h, whereas control mice did not (14).
The mechanisms that cause hypoxic inhibition of ion transport are not fully understood. Planes et al. (11) reported an increased Ca entry in hypoxic SV40-transformed ATII cells, which could not be confirmed in other types of alveolar epithelial cells. Reactive oxygen species and/or scavengers thought to be involved in oxygen sensing in a variety of cell types have no clear effect on alveolar epithelial cell transport since they affect different transport systems differently. In excitable, oxygen-sensitive cells such as the carotid body and in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells, hypoxia inhibits K channels. It is not known whether similar mechanisms exist in alveolar epithelial cells. The role of changes in intracellular Cl and/or cell volume are unclear. Changes in intracellular Cl might be caused by a possible oxygen-dependent activity of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), since a decreased activity of CFTR was observed in hypoxic MDCK cells (2). Other effects of decreased CFTR activity on alveolar Na transport in hypoxia are difficult to interpret because of the negative feedback between CFTR and ENaC and CFTR-mediated release of ATP, a known regulator of epithelial ion transport.
In summary, immediate hypoxia causes rapid inhibition of transport activity by inactivation of transport proteins and/or by internalization of active transporters. When hypoxia persists, the expression of transporters is inhibited, probably by a general inhibition of protein synthesis (6), which also decreases the number of active transporters in the plasma membrane. Both the fast and the slow responses of hypoxic inhibition of transport seem to be directed toward the conservation of energy, since no ATP depletion could be detected in hypoxic cells (6) and hypoxia-exposed rats (19). It is not known whether transport inhibition and decreased expression of transporters are initiated by the same signaling cascade.
| Lung fluid and ion transport in hypoxia in the human lung |
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Indirect evidence for lung ion transport activity might be obtained from measurements of the transepithelial potential across the nasal mucosa (nasal potential) on the basis of similarities in the expression of ENaC and Na/K pumps in airways and alveolar epithelium. In normoxia, total nasal potential as well as its amiloride-sensitive component were found to be lower in mountaineers susceptible to HAPE than in controls (13), which might indicate a deficiency in ENaC in these subjects. However, the number of copies of ENaC and its subunits seems to be high enough to maintain a normal alveolar fluid balance in normoxia. It has also been reported that in subjects exposed to hypoxia at high altitude (4,559 m) the amiloride-inhibitable portion of nasal potentials decreased in controls but not in mountaineers who developed HAPE (4). Similar to results on cultured alveolar epithelial cells, there was a decrease in the expression of Na/K pumps in airway epithelium of HAPE susceptibles but not in controls (4). If in vivo hypoxia caused transport inhibition similar to what has been shown in cultured alveolar epithelial cells, a critical threshold might be reached beyond which alveolar Na reabsorption becomes insufficient to drive the reabsorption of water. In mountaineers susceptible to HAPE, this effect might contribute to the formation of hypoxic pulmonary edema.
One reason for susceptibility to HAPE might be a deficiency in ENaC. This notion is supported by the fact that prophylactic inhalation of ß-adrenergic agents significantly decreased the incidence of HAPE by ~50% in HAPE susceptibles (13). ß-Adrenergic agents are well-established stimulators of alveolar Na reabsorption (8) and might thus prevent fluid accumulation by increasing the rate of reabsorption. The proposed mechanism appears to be plausible in light of results by Vivona et al. (17), who found that alveolar application of terbutaline reversed the inhibition of reabsorption of fluid instilled into lungs of hypoxic rats. However, besides their well-established effect on stimulating Na reabsorption, ß-adrenergic agents have several other modes of action that might contribute to the prevention of HAPE such as lowering pulmonary artery pressure and tightening of the alveolar barrier, which indicates that this subject needs further experimental evaluation. It must also be pointed out that all HAPE susceptibles studied so far respond with exaggerated pulmonary hypertension to hypoxia induced by breathing gas mixtures of low oxygen content for just a few minutes, whereas in nonsusceptibles only moderate pulmonary hypertension has been observed. This indicates that the hemodynamic component is a major determinant of HAPE susceptibility (1).
| How might Na transport defects contribute to HAPE? |
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Figure 3
summarizes scenarios of what might be happening during ascent to high altitude and when Na transport comes into play. As alveolar PO2 decreases with progressing ascent, hypoxia causes an increase in pulmonary capillary pressure that increases fluid filtration into the interstitial space (interstitial edema) and into alveoli (alveolar edema). Exaggerated pulmonary hypertension leads directly to HAPE by flooding the interstitial and the alveolar spaces. However, when the increase in pulmonary capillary pressure is moderate the rate of fluid filtration into alveoli might still be balanced by fluid clearance driven by active Na reabsorption. Endogenous (or exogenously applied) ß-adrenergic agents certainly support this mechanism by stimulating the reabsorption of Na. Hypoxia, however, also inhibits alveolar Na transport. In individuals with a high capacity of alveolar Na transport, transport activity, though decreased by hypoxia, might still be sufficient to drive the removal of water from the alveoli. Subsequently, sufficient oxygen diffusion and arterial PO2 are maintained. However, any preexisting defect in alveolar Na reabsorption in combination with hypoxic inhibition of Na transport might be detrimental since it blunts the removal of filtered fluid. In this case, a vicious circle begins, since now the layer of alveolar lining fluid thickens, which impairs oxygen diffusion, increases the degree of hypoxemia, augments pulmonary capillary pressure and filtration, further inhibits transport, and so forth. At this point, this circle can only be interrupted by preventing pulmonary vasoconstriction by oxygen or by drugs.
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| References |
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-ENaC-deficient mice. Nat Genet 13: 325328, 1996.[Web of Science][Medline]
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