Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 deficiency exaggerates LPS-induced acute lung injury through enhancing Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway

Mice lacking plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) did not affect lung injury induced by gram-positive bacteria pneumococcal pneumonia but worsened lung injury induced by gram-negative bacteria Klebsiella. The exact mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we examined the signaling pathway of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) with/without PAI-1 in acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in mice. PAI-1 knockout mice (n=60) and wild-type mice (n=60) were exposed to LPS intratracheal instillation. Different groups of mice were then sacrificed at 0 and 8 h after LPS instillation. PAI-1-/- mice showed increased excess lung water and elevated cytokines production and release. In addition, expression of TLR4 was up-regulated and the phosphorylation activation of extracellular regulating kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were also increased in PAI-1 knockout mice compared to wild-type mice. Inversely, interleukin (IL)-1 receptor-associated kinase-M (IRAK-M) and suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) were both significantly reduced in PAI-1-/-mice after LPS challenge. PAI-1 deletion increased lung injury induced by LPS through up-regulation of TLR4, ERK and C-JNK and down-regulation of TLR4 negative regulators.