Proliferative changes in the pulmonary arterial wall during short-term hyperoxic injury to the lung

Injury to the lung during in vivo exposure to hyperoxia results in vascular restructuring and pulmonary hypertension. This study reports the pattern of cellular proliferation that occurs in proximal intrapulmonary arteries over time during vessel wall injury and adaptation to increased partial pressures of oxygen. Although the remodeling of the capillary bed has been emphasized particularly during oxygen injury to the lung, this report identifies significant proliferative changes within the vessel wall of proximal arterial segments isolated from rats exposed to 85% oxygen. An increased incorporation of 3H-thymidine by endothelial cells is the earliest and most dramatic vessel wall response. The labeling index of these cells is increased more than tenfold by the end of 7 days in hyperoxia. Proliferation of medial smooth muscle cells and adventitial fibroblasts is also significantly increased. The increased cell number within these compartments is noted especially for its contribution to the overall vessel wall hypertrophy observed in chronic hyperoxic pulmonary hypertension. This general proliferative response is accompanied by specific shifts in the relative percentages of different actin protein isoforms as identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Changes in the distribution of actin isoforms are discussed as potential markers of a phenotypic modulation among vascular smooth muscle cells that occurs during the progression of pulmonary vessel wall remodeling.