[Immunohistochemical observation of angiotensin converting enzyme in acute lung injury]

The morphological changes of acute lung injury of rabbits, particularly the ACE content in the vascular endothelium of lung were studied with immunohistochemical methods and Q-970 image analysor. The activity of ACE in serum collected from the arteries was also estimated. The results showed that during the process of acute lung injury, the lung vascular endothelium was severely damaged with an obvious decrease of ACE content and activity. It indicates that decrease of ACE content and activity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury and may also be the sensitive criteria in expressing damage of the vascular endothelium in the lungs.