Endogenous nitric oxide limits cytokine-induced damage of murine lung epithelial cells

This study investigated whether endogenous nitric oxide (NO) limits cytokine-induced damage to the murine lung epithelial cell line LA-4. NO production was assessed as nitrite using the Griess reaction, and cell damage was assessed using ethidium homodimer-1. Cytotoxicity was first detected after a 24-h incubation with a combination of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interferon-gamma (cytomix). Nitrite production increased to 78.0 +/- 0.5 nmol/10(6) cells at 24 h. Coincubation of LA-4 with cytomix and NO synthase inhibitors, aminoguanidine (3-1,000 microM) and N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (10-1,000 microM), but not N(G)-monomethyl-D-arginine, or a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, 1H-[1,2,4] oxadiazole [4,3-a] quinoxalin-1-one, reduced cytomix-induced nitrite production and increased cytotoxicity up to twofold (24 h). Removal of L-arginine from the medium increased damage; reintroduction of 1,000 microM L-arginine, but not D-arginine, reversed this. In aminoguanidine-treated cells, replacement of NO with an NO donor, S-nitrosoglutathione (30 microM), reversed, in part, the cell damage observed in aminoguanidine/cytomix-treated cells. These results suggest that endogenous NO limits cytokine-induced lung epithelial damage.