RESUMO
Pulmonary edema and sepsis-like syndrome are grave complications of interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy. Recent animal studies have suggested IL-2-induced microvascular injury as the underlying mechanism. Since complement factors have been shown to mediate increased vascular permeability in diverse conditions that lead to pulmonary injury and recombinant human IL-2 is known to activate the complement system in patients undergoing IL-2 therapy, we hypothesized that complement factors play a pivotal role in the development of increased vascular permeability after IL-2 treatment. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the capacity of recombinant soluble human complement receptor type 1 (sCR1, BRL 55730), a new highly specific complement inhibitor, to attenuate IL-2-induced lung injury in the rat. Recombinant human IL-2 (intravenously for 60 minutes) at 10(6) U per rat (n = 4) elevated lung water content (37 +/- 6%, P < .05), myeloperoxidase activity (162 +/- 49%, P < .05), and serum thromboxane B2 (30 +/- 1 pg/100 microL, P < .01) and had no effect on serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha sCR-1 at 30 mg/kg (n = 5), but not at 10 mg/kg (n = 6), attenuated the elevation of lung water content (18 +/- 2%, P < .05) and myeloperoxidase activity (42 +/- 9%, P < .05) but failed to alter serum thromboxane B2 response to IL-2. These data suggest the involvement of complement in the pathogenesis of IL-2-induced pulmonary microvascular injury and point to the potential therapeutic capacity of complement inhibitors in combating this toxic effect of IL-2 therapy.
Assuntos
Proteínas do Sistema Complemento/fisiologia , Interleucina-2/farmacologia , Pulmão/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Linhagem Celular , Humanos , Indometacina/farmacologia , Pulmão/metabolismo , Pulmão/patologia , Masculino , Tamanho do Órgão/efeitos dos fármacos , Peroxidase/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Receptores de Complemento/metabolismo , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Tromboxano B2/metabolismo , Timidina/metabolismo , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/metabolismoRESUMO
A man with known systemic neurofibromatosis developed an acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage while hospitalized after a neurosurgical procedure. Endoscopic evaluation showed a vascular lesion with an appearance consistent with a Dieulafoy-type lesion in the distal esophagus. Despite multiple endoscopic procedures with attempted coagulation of the bleeding lesion, the patient continued to have life-threatening hemorrhaging. At thoractomy, a tumor was found to arise from the vagus nerve at the site of bleeding. This tumor was resected and histologically determined to be a neurilemoma. Acute bleeding into the esophagus associated with this type of tumor has not been previously reported.