Protection of lung epithelial cells from protease-mediated injury by trappin-2 A62L, an engineered inhibitor of neutrophil serine proteases.

Neutrophil serine proteases (NSPs), including elastase, proteinase 3 and cathepsin G, play critical roles in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory lung diseases. The release of excess NSPs leads to the destruction of lung tissue and an overexuberant, sustained inflammatory response. Antiproteases could be valuable tools for controlling these NSP-mediated inflammatory events. We have examined the capacity of trappin-2 A62L, a potent engineered inhibitor of all three NSPs, to protect human lung A549 epithelial cells from the deleterious effects of NSPs. Trappin-2 A62L, significantly inhibited the detachment of A549 cells and the degradation of the tight-junction proteins, E-cadherin, β-catenin and ZO-1, induced by each individual NSP and by activated neutrophils. Trappin-2 A62L also decreased the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 from A549 cells that had been stimulated with elastase or LPS. Trappin-2 A62D/M63L, a trappin-2 variant that has no antiprotease activity, has similar properties, suggesting that the anti-inflammatory action of trappin-2 is independent of its antiprotease activity. Interestingly, we present evidence that trappin-2 A62L, as well as wild-type trappin-2, enter A549 cells and move rapidly to the cytoplasm and nucleus, where they are likely to exert their anti-inflammatory effects. We have also demonstrated that trappin-2 A62L inhibits the early apoptosis of A549 cells mediated by NSPs. Thus, our data indicate that trappin-2 A62L is a powerful anti-protease and anti-inflammatory agent that could be used to develop a treatment for patients with inflammatory lung diseases.