Shinji Teramoto, Masashi Suzuki, Takeshi Matsuse and Yasuyoshi Ouchi
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tokyo University Hospital, Tokyo 113-8655,
Japan
Abstract: We examined the effect of ambroxol and age on oxygen
radical production and generation with stimulation of phorbol-myristate
acetate (PMA) by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells. Lung free cells including
pulmonary alveolar macrophages were harvested from young (4-month-old) and
aged (28-month-old) male guinea pigs using BAL. The oxygen radicals produced
by BAL cells with or without stimulation of PMA were measured by the lucigenin-dependent
chemiluminescence method using a photon counter. Oxygen radical production
and generation by BAL cells were not different between young and aged guinea
pigs. However, the oxygen radical generation after stimulation with PMA
was greater than the oxygen radical spontaneous production both in young
and aged animals. Ambroxol solution given into culture media containing
BAL cells inhibited oxygen radical production and generation by BAL cells
harvested from both young and aged guinea pigs in a concentration-dependent
manner. Approximately 16-20 microM of ambroxol inhibited 50% of the production
of oxygen radicals in vitro by BAL cells in young and aged guinea pigs,
whereas a slightly greater amount of ambroxol was necessary to inhibit 50%
of the PMA-induced oxygen radical generation in vitro by BAL cells in guinea
pigs. These results indicate that ambroxol inhibits oxygen radicals produced
by BAL cells from young and aged guinea pigs, and they suggest that ambroxol
may be a possible therapeutic modality for ameliorating oxidant associated
pulmonary disorders in young and aged patients.
Keywords: Ambroxol, Oxygen radical, Chemiluminescence, Pulmonary alveolar
macrophage, Aging