Induction of Mouse Lung Injury by Endotracheal Injection of Bleomycin

Summary

Here we present an effective method to investigate the antifibrotic activity of intravenously infused human mesenchymal stromal cells obtained from the whole umbilical cord following the induction of lung injury by an endotracheal injection of bleomycin in C57BL/6 mice. This protocol can be easily extended to the preclinical testing of other therapeutics.

Abstract

Pulmonary fibrosis is a hallmark of several human lung diseases with a different etiology. Since current therapies are rather limited, mouse models continue to be an essential tool for developing new antifibrotic strategies. Here we provide an effective method to investigate in vivo antifibrotic activity of human mesenchymal stromal cells obtained from whole umbilical cord (hUC-MSC) in attenuating bleomycin-induced lung injury. C57BL/6 mice receive a single endotracheal injection of bleomycin (1.5 U/kg body weight) followed by a double infusion of hUC-MSC (2.5 x 10⁵) into the tail vein, 24 h and 7 days after the bleomycin administration. Upon sacrifice at days 8, 14, or 21, inflammatory and fibrotic changes, collagen content, and hUC-MSC presence in explanted lung tissue are analyzed. The injection of bleomycin into the mouse trachea allows the direct targeting of the lungs, leading to extensive pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. The systemic administration of a double dose of hUC-MSC results in the early blunting of the bleomycin-induced lung injury. Intravenously infused hUC-MSC are transiently engrafted into the mouse lungs, where they exert their anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity. In conclusion, this protocol has been successfully applied for the preclinical testing of hUC-MSC in an experimental mouse model of human pulmonary fibrosis. However, this technique can be easily extended both to study the effect of different endotracheally administered substances on the pathophysiology of the lungs and to validate new anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic systemic therapies.

Introduction

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive pathological process characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components, mainly type I collagen, in the lung interstitium, leading to impaired lung function. It is the hallmark of several human lung diseases with a different etiology and represents a poor clinical prognostic factor. Since current therapies are rather limited¹, mouse models continue to be an essential tool both for the further investigation of the pathogenic mechanisms influencing the onset and the progression of the disease and for developing new antifibrotic strategies^2,

Protocol

All animal care and experimental procedures were approved by the Italian Ministry of Health (authorization n. 456/2016-PR) and performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki conventions.

1. Mice

1. After purchasing them, allow the mice to acclimate for at least 7 days before the injection.
   NOTE: Mice were housed in the animal facility under pathogen-free conditions, were maintained under constant temperature and humidity on a 12 h light/dark cycle, and were given free acces.......

Discussion

Endotracheal administration is the preferential route for delivering exogenous agents into the lungs. Since several years, the direct injection of bleomycin into the trachea has been widely used to induce pulmonary fibrosis¹³ and, recently, more advanced, noninvasive techniques have been developed to accomplish this^14,15,16.

The method described here provides several meaningful.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
C57BL/6 mice	Charles River	Jax Mice Stock n. 000664
2,2,2-Tribromoethanol (Avertin)	Sigma-Aldrich	T48402
Barraquer Micro Needle Holder	Lawton	62-3755
Bleomycin sulfate	Sigma-Aldrich	B1141000
Bürker chamber	Brand	718905
Culture Flasks	EuroClone	ET7076
Disposable razors	Unigloves	4080
Dissecting Forceps	Aesculap Surgical Instruments	BD311R
DPBS	Gibco	14190-144
Heating pad	2Biological Instruments	557023
Isoflurane Vet	Merial Italia	N01AB06
Operating Microscope	Carl Zeiss	Model OPM 16
TrypLE Select Enzyme	Gibco	12563-029
Vannas Micro Scissors	Aesculap Surgical Instruments	OC498R
Vicryl Plus 4/0 Absorbable Suture, FS-2 needle 19 mm	Ethicon	VCP392ZH