AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 251, Issue 2 282-R288, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Lung mechanics and connective tissue levels in starvation-induced emphysema in hamsters

J. B. Karlinsky, R. H. Goldstein, B. Ojserkis and G. L. Snider

The effect of starvation on lung mechanics, morphometry, and levels of connective tissue components was determined in young adult golden Syrian hamsters. A base-line control, fed control, and starved group were studied. Fed group animals increased body weight by 13%, but dry lung weight did not increase above that of the base-line controls. The total lung capacity when transpulmonary pressure was at 25 cmH2O (TLC25) also increased by 20% above base-line controls. The mean TLC25 of the starved group was greater than that of the base-line control group but less than that of the fed control group (P less than 0.05). Volume-corrected air-filled volume pressure (VP) curves of the three groups were similar. Volume-corrected saline-filled VP curves were identical in the three groups. Total lung collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycan, and protein were similar in the three groups. Air space size was significantly increased and mean internal surface area was significantly decreased in the starved group compared with the base-line and fed controls. No evidence of alveolar wall destruction was evident by light or electron microscopy. We conclude that severe starvation of young adult hamsters produces air space enlargement without changes in lung elastic recoil. The mechanism of alveolar wall remodeling is not yet understood in this model of emphysema.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. M. Bishai and W. Mitzner Effect of severe calorie restriction on the lung in two strains of mice Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, August 1, 2008; 295(2): L356 - L362. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Summer, F. F. Little, N. Ouchi, Y. Takemura, T. Aprahamian, D. Dwyer, K. Fitzsimmons, B. Suki, H. Parameswaran, A. Fine, et al. Alveolar macrophage activation and an emphysema-like phenotype in adiponectin-deficient mice Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2008; 294(6): L1035 - L1042. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Fields, J. M. Bishai, W. Mitzner, and E. M. Wagner Effects of pulmonary ischemia on lung morphology Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, July 1, 2007; 293(1): L254 - L258. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Massaro, E. Alexander, K. Reiland, E. P. Hoffman, G. D. Massaro, and L. B. Clerch Rapid onset of gene expression in lung, supportive of formation of alveolar septa, induced by refeeding mice after calorie restriction Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, May 1, 2007; 292(5): L1313 - L1326. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Massaro, G. D. Massaro, A. Baras, E. P. Hoffman, and L. B. Clerch Calorie-related rapid onset of alveolar loss, regeneration, and changes in mouse lung gene expression Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, May 1, 2004; 286(5): L896 - L906. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. De Carlo Massaro, S. Radaeva, L. B. Clerch, and D. Massaro Lung alveoli: endogenous programmed destruction and regeneration Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, August 1, 2002; 283(2): L305 - L309. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Massaro and G. D. Massaro Pre- and Postnatal Lung Development, Maturation, and Plasticity: Invited Review: Pulmonary alveoli: formation, the "call for oxygen," and other regulators Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, March 1, 2002; 282(3): L345 - L358. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]