Gilbert S, Steinbrech D S, Landas S K, Hunninghake G W
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City.
Am Rev Respir Dis. 1993 Aug;148(2):483-6. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/148.2.483.
A number of granulomatous lung diseases, including sarcoidosis, are associated with an increase in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity. To evaluate whether the amount of ACE activity reflects the burden of granulomas, we used an animal model of granulomatous lung disease caused by injecting killed Mycobacterium butyricum intravenously into mice after a primary intracutaneous injection with Freund's complete adjuvant. In this model, essentially all of the granulomas are present in the lung. RNA was isolated from one lung and assayed for ACE mRNA. The other lung was evaluated histologically; the area of lung occupied by granulomas was determined by morphometry. We found that total lung RNA and RNA specific for ACE increased in close correlation with the area of granulomas. These findings provide direct evidence that the amount of ACE activity in granulomatous disease reflects the total burden of granulomas. This may be a useful model to further evaluate ACE regulation in granulomatous lung disease.
包括结节病在内的一些肉芽肿性肺病与血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）活性增加有关。为了评估ACE活性水平是否反映肉芽肿的负荷，我们使用了一种肉芽肿性肺病动物模型，该模型是通过在初次皮内注射弗氏完全佐剂后，静脉注射灭活的丁酸分枝杆菌来诱导小鼠产生的。在这个模型中，基本上所有的肉芽肿都出现在肺部。从一侧肺中分离RNA，并检测ACE mRNA。另一侧肺进行组织学评估；通过形态计量学确定肉芽肿占据的肺面积。我们发现，肺总RNA和ACE特异性RNA的增加与肉芽肿面积密切相关。这些发现提供了直接证据，表明肉芽肿病中ACE活性水平反映了肉芽肿的总负荷。这可能是进一步评估肉芽肿性肺病中ACE调节的有用模型。
