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Molecular composition of the alveolar lining fluid in the aging lung

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Abstract

As we age, there is an increased risk for the development of pulmonary diseases, including infections, but few studies have considered changes in lung surfactant and components of the innate immune system as contributing factors to the increased susceptibility of the elderly to succumb to infections. We and others have demonstrated that human alveolar lining fluid (ALF) components, such as surfactant protein (SP)-A, SP-D, complement protein C3, and alveolar hydrolases, play a significant innate immune role in controlling microbial infections. However, there is a lack of information regarding the effect of increasing age on the level and function of ALF components in the lung. Here we addressed this gap in knowledge by determining the levels of ALF components in the aging lung that are important in controlling infection. Our findings demonstrate that pro-inflammatory cytokines, surfactant proteins and lipids, and complement components are significantly altered in the aged lung in both mice and humans. Further, we show that the aging lung is a relatively oxidized environment. Our study provides new information on how the pulmonary environment in old age can potentially modify mucosal immune responses, thereby impacting pulmonary infections and other pulmonary diseases in the elderly population.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a The Ohio State University Public Health Preparedness for Infectious Diseases (PHPID) pilot award to JT, JBT, LSS, WL, SW, J(X)P, and PR Jr, and a Julie Martin Mid-Career American Federation of Aging Research (AFAR) award to JT, and partially by a NIH/NIAD R01 [AI-093570] to JBT. JIM was partially supported by a NIH/NIGMS T32-GM068412. We thank Dr. Patsy Skabla for assisting with patient enrollment. We also thank the Campus Chemical Instrument Center (CCIC) at The Ohio State University for their services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Microbial Interface Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Juan I. Moliva, Murugesan V. S. Rajaram, Sabeen Sidiki, Smitha J. Sasindran, Evelyn Guirado, Shu-Hua Wang, William P. Lafuse, Larry S. Schlesinger, Joanne Turner & Jordi B. Torrelles

  2. Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Murugesan V. S. Rajaram, William P. Lafuse, Larry S. Schlesinger, Joanne Turner & Jordi B. Torrelles

  3. Center for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Xueliang Jeff Pan

  4. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Shu-Hua Wang

  5. Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Patrick Ross Jr.

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  1. Juan I. Moliva
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  2. Murugesan V. S. Rajaram
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  3. Sabeen Sidiki
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  10. Larry S. Schlesinger
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  12. Jordi B. Torrelles
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Correspondence to Joanne Turner or Jordi B. Torrelles.

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Juan I. Moliva and Murugesan V. S. Rajaram contributed equally to this work.

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Moliva, J.I., Rajaram, M.V.S., Sidiki, S. et al. Molecular composition of the alveolar lining fluid in the aging lung. AGE 36, 1187–1199 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9633-4

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