Unfractionated heparin attenuates endothelial barrier dysfunction via the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/serine/threonine kinase/nuclear factor kappa-B pathway

Abstract Background Vascular endothelial dysfunction is considered a key pathophysiologic process for the development of acute lung injury. In this study, we aimed at investigating the effects of unfractionated heparin (UFH) on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced changes of vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin) and the potential underlying mechanisms. Methods Male C57BL/6 J mice were randomized into three groups: vehicle, LPS, and LPS + UFH groups. Intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg/kg LPS was used to induce sepsis. Mice in the LPS + UFH group received subcutaneous injection of 8 U UFH 0.5 h before LPS injection. The lung tissue of the mice was collected for assessing lung injury by measuring the lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio and observing histological changes. Human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) were cultured and used to analyze the effects of UFH on LPS- or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced vascular hyperpermeability, membrane expression of VE-cadherin, p120-catenin, and phosphorylated myosin light chain (p-MLC), and F-actin remodeling, and on the LPS-induced activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/serine/threonine kinase (Akt)/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Results In vivo , UFH pretreatment significantly attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary histopathological changes (neutrophil infiltration and erythrocyte effusion, alveolus pulmonis collapse, and thicker septum), decreased the lung W/D, and increased protein concentration (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 0.57 ± 0.04 vs . 0.32 ± 0.04 mg/mL, P = 0.0092), total cell count (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 9.57 ± 1.23 vs . 3.65 ± 0.78 × 10 5 /mL, P = 0.0155), polymorphonuclear neutrophil percentage (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 88.05% ± 2.88% vs . 22.20% ± 3.92%, P = 0.0002), and TNF-α (460.33 ± 23.48 vs . 189.33 ± 14.19 pg/mL, P = 0.0006) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In vitro , UFH pre-treatment prevented the LPS-induced decrease in the membrane expression of VE-cadherin (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 0.368 ± 0.044 vs . 0.716 ± 0.064, P = 0.0114) and p120-catenin (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 0.208 ± 0.018 vs . 0.924 ± 0.092, P = 0.0016), and the LPS-induced increase in the expression of p-MLC (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 0.972 ± 0.092 vs . 0.293 ± 0.025, P = 0.0021). Furthermore, UFH attenuated LPS- and TNF-α-induced hyperpermeability of HPMECs (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 8.90 ± 0.66 vs . 15.84 ± 1.09 Ω·cm 2 , P = 0.0056; TNF-α vs . TNF-α + UFH: 11.28 ± 0.64 vs . 18.15 ± 0.98 Ω·cm 2 , P = 0.0042) and F-actin remodeling (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 56.25 ± 1.51 vs . 39.70 ± 1.98, P = 0.0027; TNF-α vs . TNF-α + UFH: 55.42 ± 1.42 vs . 36.51 ± 1.20, P = 0.0005) in vitro . Additionally, UFH decreased the phosphorylation of Akt (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 0.977 ± 0.081 vs . 0.466 ± 0.035, P = 0.0045) and I kappa B Kinase (IKK) (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 1.023 ± 0.070 vs . 0.578 ± 0.044, P = 0.0060), and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB (LPS vs . LPS + UFH: 1.003 ± 0.077 vs . 0.503 ± 0.065, P = 0.0078) in HPMECs, which was similar to the effect of the PI3K inhibitor, wortmannin. Conclusions The protective effect of UFH against LPS-induced pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction involves VE-cadherin stabilization and PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling.