Erythrocytes reduce liquid filtration in injured dog lungs

In isolated, dog lung lobes with pulmonary vessels filled with different liquids, we measured the rate of weight gain for 5 or 10 min at constant alveolar and vascular pressures under zone 1 conditions (alveolar pressure greater than vascular pressure). We used six different liquids: syngeneic plasma, whole blood (hematocrit = 38 +/- 4%), 4% albumin in Krebs-Ringer solution, washed red blood cells in Krebs-Ringer solution (hematocrit = 37 +/- 6%), and platelet-rich or platelet-poor plasma. We studied the lobes under three conditions: immediate perfusion after removal (less than 30 min), delayed perfusion (2 h or more), or immediate perfusion after removal from air-embolized animals. In lobes that showed low-filtration rate using plasma [less than 0.5 g/(min x 100 g)] substitution of whole blood had no effect on the filtration rate. In lobes that showed high-filtration rates using plasma (delayed perfusion or deliberately injured using air emboli) substitution of whole blood caused a dramatic decrease in the filtration rate, restoring it to the level obtained in uninjured lobes. Platelets had no effect. Thus the red cells specifically reduced abnormally high filtration but did not affect normal filtration. There appear to be three possible mechanisms: 1) red cells physically blocking large leaks; 2) red cells settling on the filtration surface area (osmotic-barrier effect); 3) red cells acting as reducing agents against active oxygen metabolites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)