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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Mitochondrial dysfunction and host immune response during pneumococcal pneumonia : impact of mechanical ventilation?

subject

description

Lung damage induced by mechanical ventilation (MV) worsens the prognosis of pneumonia. Mitochondrial dysfunctions could account for such deleterious effects. Accordingly, data obtained from both in vitro and in vivo experimental studies, as well as in ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, show that mitochondrial alarmins, especially mitochondrial DNA, are released in the alveolar compartment as a result of the cyclic stretch, and could thus represent one link between the mechanical insult and the sterile inflammation leading to VILI (ventilator-induced lung injury). In rabbits, we show herein that adverse and prolonged MV worsens the prognosis of pneumococcal pneumonia, and is associated with different immune and mitochondrial patterns of response according to the considered body compartment (i.e., lung or blood flow). Finally, mesenchymal stem cells administration improves the outcome of rabbits submitted to the combination of pneumonia and MV by correcting some immune and mitochondrial dysfunctions, thus representing a promising adjunctive therapy to antibiotics.