Hypoxic contraction of contractile interstitial cells isolated from
bovine lung.
Fukui, Motonari, Hiroaki Yasui, Kikuko Watanabe, Toyoshi Fujimoto,
Tatsuyuki Kakuma, Ryotaro Yoshida, Motoharu Ohi, and Kenshi Kuno.
Department of Cell Biology, Osaka Bioscience Institute, Suita,
Osaka 565, Japan, Department of Clinical Physiology, Chest Disease
Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan, Department of
Enzymes and Metabolism, Osaka Bioscience Institute, Suita, Osaka 565,
Japan, Department of Anatomy, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine,
Kyoto 606, Japan and Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University
Medical College, NY 10605
APStracts 3:0018L, 1996.
Although contractile interstitial cells (CICs) in the alveolar septum
have been suggested to be involved in hypoxic pulmonary
vasoconstriction (HPV), direct demonstration of cellular contraction
under hypoxia has been lacking. To achieve this, we purified CICs
from collagenase-dissociated bovine lung cells and examined the
response of these cells to hypoxia. Prostaglandin (PG) F synthase
served as a marker of CICs, and the isolated PGF synthase-positive
cells were shown to preserve the ultrastructural features
characteristic of CICs, most notably bundles of microfilaments.
Isolated CICs seeded onto collagen gel disks became embedded and
formed a lattice network with collagen fibrils. Exposure of these
CIC-bearing gels to hypoxia (PO2 = 20-40 Torr) evoked a reversible
reduction in gel volume as assessed by measuring the surface area of
the gel disks photographically. Thus, CICs were shown to contract
under hypoxia, providing the supportive evidence for the involvement
of CICs in HPV.
Received 15 April 1994; accepted in final form 8 December 1995.
APS Manuscript Number L112-4.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Lung Cell. Mol.
Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 29 January 96