Prolonged exposure to
hyperoxia results in
acute lung injury (ALI), accompanied by a significant elevation in the levels of proinflammatory
cytokines and leukocyte infiltration in the lungs. However, the mechanisms underlying
hyperoxia-induced proinflammatory ALI remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of the proinflammatory
cytokine high mobility group box
protein 1 (
HMGB1) in hyperoxic inflammatory
lung injury, using an adult mouse model. The exposure of C57BL/6 mice to ≥99% O2 (
hyperoxia) significantly increased the accumulation of
HMGB1 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) prior to the onset of severe inflammatory
lung injury. In the airways of hyperoxic mice,
HMGB1 was hyperacetylated and existed in various redox forms. Intratracheal administration of recombinant
HMGB1 (rHMGB1) caused a significant increase in leukocyte infiltration into the lungs compared to animal treated with a non-specific
peptide. Neutralizing anti-HMGB1
antibodies, administrated before
hyperoxia significantly attenuated
pulmonary edema and inflammatory responses, as indicated by decreased total
protein content, wet/dry weight ratio, and numbers of leukocytes in the airways. This protection was also observed when
HMGB1 inhibitors were administered after the onset of the hyperoxic exposure. The aliphatic
antioxidant,
ethyl pyruvate (EP), inhibited
HMGB1 secretion from hyperoxic macrophages and attenuated hyperoxic
lung injury. Overall, our data suggest that
HMGB1 plays a critical role in mediating hyperoxic ALI through the recruitment of leukocytes into the lungs. If these results can be translated to humans, they suggest that
HMGB1 inhibitors provide treatment regimens for oxidative inflammatory
lung injury in patients receiving
hyperoxia through
mechanical ventilation.