Distribution of blood flow and neutrophil kinetics in bronchial vasculature of sheep

• Published in: Journal of applied physiology (1985) Vol. 82; no. 5; pp. 1466 - 1471
• Main Authors: Baile, Elisabeth M, Pare, Peter D, Ernest, David, Dodek, Peter M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Am Physiological Soc 01.05.1997; American Physiological Society
• Subjects: Air breathing; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Bronchi - blood supply; Bronchi - physiology; Carbon Dioxide - blood; Chromium Radioisotopes; Erythrocyte Count; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hemodynamics - physiology; Kinetics; Leukocyte Count; Microcirculation - physiology; Neutrophils - cytology; Neutrophils - physiology; Oxygen - blood; Pulmonary Circulation - physiology; Respiratory system: anatomy, metabolism, gas exchange, ventilatory mechanics, respiratory hemodynamics; Sheep; Vertebrates: respiratory system; Regional blood flow; Bronchus; Respiratory system; Respiratory tract; Blood cell; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Pulmonary vessel; Sheep; Pulmonary circulation; Artiodactyla; Hemodynamics; Kinetics; Neutrophil; Lymphocyte; Ungulata
• ISSN: 8750-7587; 1522-1601
• DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1997.82.5.1466

Elisabeth M. Baile, Peter D. Paré, David Ernest, and Peter M. Dodek Department of Medicine and Pulmonary Research Laboratory, St. Paul's Hospital, and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6Z 1Y6 Received 19 August 1996; accepted in final form 27 December 1996. Baile, Elisabeth M., Peter D. Paré, David Ernest, and Peter M. Dodek. Distribution of blood flow and neutrophil kinetics in bronchial vasculature of sheep. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(5): 1466-1471, 1997. The bronchial circulation, as opposed to the pulmonary circulation, is the likely source of the edema and inflammatory cells that contribute to airflow obstruction and airway narrowing associated with asthma and pulmonary edema. The purpose of this study was to understand the mechanism of edema formation and inflammation in airway walls. Therefore, we sought first to determine the normal bronchial venous drainage pathways. In anesthetized, ventilated, open-chest sheep we measured the relative distribution of 51 Cr-labeled red blood cells to the right and left ventricles after injection into the bronchial artery ( n  = 7). Using this information, we then studied the kinetics of leukocytes in the bronchial vascular bed. We measured the extraction of 111 In-labeled neutrophils during their first pass through the microvasculature after injection into the bronchial artery or right ventricle ( n = 6). In the first set of experiments, we found >85% of the systemic blood flow to the lung returns to the left ventricle. In the second set of experiments, we found that extraction of neutrophils in the bronchial vasculature (50-60%) was less ( P  < 0.05) than that in the pulmonary vasculature (80%). This finding may be explained by differences in the anatomy and/or hydrodynamic dispersal forces between the pulmonary and bronchial vascular beds or may reflect sequestration of neutrophils within the pulmonary microvasculature while traversing bronchial-to-pulmonary anastomotic pathways. bronchial-to-pulmonary anastomoses; bronchial venous drainage; neutrophil extraction; pulmonary vasculature 0161-7567/97 $5.00 Copyright © 1997 the American Physiological Society