Pulmonary Macrophage Inhibition and Inhaled Nitric Oxide Attenuate Lung Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

The severity of LIRI was most significantly reduced by the inhibition of pulmonary macrophages and the concomitant use of inhaled NO. Pulmonary macrophages, likely through the elaboration of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, not only cause early injury themselves but also prime cells such as neutrophils to injure lungs in the later stages of LIRI. The LIRI was effectively blunted by the reduction of macrophage-dependent injury by gadolinium while inhaled NO also attenuated injury by reducing pulmonary hypertension and minimizing neutrophil sequestration.