HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Permissions Request Permissions Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (20) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sartori, C. Articles by Scherrer, U. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sartori, C. Articles by Scherrer, U.

High altitude impairs nasal transepithelial sodium transport in HAPE-prone subjects

¹ Dept of Internal Medicine and the Botnar Center for Clinical Research, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, and ² Dept of Internal Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

CORRESPONDENCE: U. Scherrer, Dept of Internal Medicine, BH 10.642, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Fax: 41 213140928, E-mail: Urs.Scherrer@chuv.hospvd.ch

Keywords: Alveolar fluid clearance, high altitude, hypoxia, pulmonary oedema, transepithelial sodium transport

Received: October 15, 2003
Accepted January 11, 2004

This study was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation (32.46797.96 and 3238-051157.97), the Placide Nicod Foundation, the Emma Muschamp Foundation and the International Olympic Committee.

High-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE) occurs in predisposed individuals at altitudes >2,500 m. Defective alveolar fluid clearance secondary to a constitutive impairment of the respiratory transepithelial sodium transport contributes to its pathogenesis. Hypoxia impairs the transepithelial sodium transport in alveolar epithelial type II cells in vitro. If this impairment is also present in vivo, high-altitude exposure could aggravate the constitutive defect in sodium transport in HAPE-prone subjects, and thereby further facilitate pulmonary oedema.

Therefore, the aim of the current study was to measure the nasal potential difference (PD) in 21 HAPE-prone and 29 HAPE-resistant subjects at low altitude and 30 h after arrival at high altitude (4,559 m).

High-altitude exposure significantly decreased the mean±sd nasal PD in HAPE-prone (18.0±6.2 versus 12.5±6.8 mV) but not in HAPE-resistant subjects (25.6±9.4 versus 22.9±9.2 mV). This altitude-induced decrease was not associated with an altered amiloride-sensitive fraction, but was associated with a significantly lower amiloride-insensitive fraction of the nasal PD.

These findings provide evidence in vivo that an environmental factor may impair respiratory transepithelial sodium transport in humans. They are consistent with the concept that in high-altitude pulmonary oedema-susceptible subjects, the combination of a constitutive and an acquired defect in this transport mechanism facilitates the development of pulmonary oedema during high-altitude exposure.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. B. Schoene Illnesses at High Altitude Chest, August 1, 2008; 134(2): 402 - 416. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Kunzelmann, J. Sun, J. Meanger, N. J. King, and D. I. Cook Inhibition of Airway Na+ Transport by Respiratory Syncytial Virus J. Virol., April 15, 2007; 81(8): 3714 - 3720. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Allemann, D. Hutter, E. Lipp, C. Sartori, H. Duplain, M. Egli, S. Cook, U. Scherrer, and C. Seiler Patent Foramen Ovale and High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema JAMA, December 27, 2006; 296(24): 2954 - 2958. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Maggiorini High altitude-induced pulmonary oedema Cardiovasc Res, October 1, 2006; 72(1): 41 - 50. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Litvan, A. Briva, M. S. Wilson, G. R. S. Budinger, J. I. Sznajder, and K. M. Ridge beta-Adrenergic Receptor Stimulation and Adenoviral Overexpression of Superoxide Dismutase Prevent the Hypoxia-mediated Decrease in Na,K-ATPase and Alveolar Fluid Reabsorption J. Biol. Chem., July 21, 2006; 281(29): 19892 - 19898. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Jain and J. I. Sznajder Effects of Hypoxia on the Alveolar Epithelium Proceedings of the ATS, October 1, 2005; 2(3): 202 - 205. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Bartsch, H. Mairbaurl, M. Maggiorini, and E. R. Swenson Physiological aspects of high-altitude pulmonary edema J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2005; 98(3): 1101 - 1110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Mairbaurl, N. Mason, and P. Bartsch Nasal potentials at high altitude Eur. Respir. J., February 1, 2005; 25(2): 394 - 395. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Sartori, M. Egli, and U. Scherrer From the authors Eur. Respir. J., February 1, 2005; 25(2): 395 - 396. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Egli, H. Duplain, M. Lepori, S. Cook, P. Nicod, E. Hummler, C. Sartori, and U. Scherrer Defective respiratory amiloride-sensitive sodium transport predisposes to pulmonary oedema and delays its resolution in mice J. Physiol., November 1, 2004; 560(3): 857 - 865. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]