Abstract
Resolution of alveolar edema depends on active ion transport by sodium pumps located on the basolateral surface of alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), suggesting that upregulation of sodium pump activity may facilitate clearance of edema fluid. We have investigated the use of lentiviral vectors to augment sodium pump activity via gene transfer of sodium pump subunits to AECs. Full-length cDNA for the α1 or β1 subunit of rat Na+,K+-ATPase was cloned into the lentiviral vector pRRLsin.hCMV.IRES.EGFP. Rat AECs in primary culture were transduced on day 4 with lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein G. Transduction with lentiviral vectors encoding either α1 subunit (Lenti-α1-EGFP) or β1 subunit (Lenti-β1-EGFP) led to dose-dependent increases in mRNA and protein for the corresponding subunit. Transduction with Lenti- β1-EGFP was accompanied by coordinate upregulation of endogenous α1 expression, whereas endogenous β1 expression was unchanged after transduction with Lenti-α1-EGFP. Consistent with these findings, transduction with Lenti-β1- EGFP, but not Lenti-α1-EGFP, led to augmentation of sodium pump activity as a result of increases in Na+,K+-ATPase holoenzyme. Sodium pump α2 subunit and sodium channel protein did not change after Lenti-β1-EGFP transduction. These results demonstrate that overall sodium pump activity can be efficiently upregulated in AECs specifically via gene transfer of the sodium pump β1 subunit and support the feasibility of lentivirus-mediated gene transfer to augment alveolar fluid clearance.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 457-468 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Human gene therapy |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics