We have developed a mouse lung injury model by intra-tracheal injection of bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This model mimics lung injury during pneumonia and is clinically relevant.
Mice exposed to intraperitoneal LPS secrete exosomes in Broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid that are packaged with miRNAs. Using a co-culture system, we show that exosomes released in the BAL fluid disrupt expression of tight junction proteins in bronchial epithelial cells and increase expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines that accentuate lung injury.