Differential modulation of surfactant protein D under acute and persistent hypoxia in acute lung injury

Hypoxia contributes to the development of fibrosis with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via stimulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and de novo twist expression. Although hypoxemia is associated with increasing levels of surfactant protein D (SP-D) in acute lung injury (ALI), the longitudinal effects of hypoxia on SP-D expression in lung tissue injury/fibrosis have not been fully evaluated. Here, the involvement of hypoxia and SP-D modulation was evaluated in a model of bleomycin-induced lung injury. We also investigated the molecular mechanisms by which hypoxia might modulate SP-D expression in alveolar cells, by using a doxycycline (Dox)-dependent HIF-1α expression system. Tissue hypoxia and altered SP-D levels were present in bleomycin-induced fibrotic lesions. Acute hypoxia induced SP-D expression, supported by the finding that Dox-induced expression of HIF-1α increased SP-D expression. In contrast, persistent hypoxia repressed SP-D expression coupled with an EMT phenotype and twist expression. Long-term expression of HIF-1α caused SP-D repression with twist expression. Ectopic twist expression repressed SP-D expression. The longitudinal observation of hypoxia and SP-D levels in ALI in vivo was supported by the finding that HIF-1α expression stabilized by acute hypoxia induced increasing SP-D expression in alveolar cells, whereas persistent hypoxia induced de novo twist expression in these cells, causing repression of SP-D and acquisition of an EMT phenotype. Thus this is the first study to demonstrate the molecular mechanisms, in which SP-D expression under acute and persistent hypoxia in acute lung injury might be differentially modulated by stabilized HIF-1α expression and de novo twist expression.