Combined SP-A-bleomycin effect on cytokines by THP-1 cells: impact of surfactant lipids on this effect

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays a role in host defense and inflammation in the lung. In the present study, we investigated the hypothesis that SP-A is involved in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. We studied the effects of human SP-A on bleomycin-induced cytokine production and mRNA expression in THP-1 macrophage-like cells and obtained the following results. 1) Bleomycin-treated THP-1 cells increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-8, and IL-1beta production in dose- and time-dependent patterns, as we have observed with SP-A. TNF-alpha levels were unaffected by treatment with cytosine arabinoside. 2) The combined bleomycin-SP-A effect on cytokine production is additive by RNase protection assay and synergistic by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. 3) Although the bleomycin effect on cytokine production was not significantly affected by the presence of surfactant lipid, the additive and synergistic effect of SP-A-bleomycin on cytokine production was significantly reduced. We speculate that the elevated cytokine levels resulting from the bleomycin-SP-A synergism are responsible for bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and that surfactant lipids can help ameliorate pulmonary complications observed during bleomycin chemotherapy.