PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Yusuke Takei AU - Mitsuhiro Yamada AU - Koji Saito AU - Yoshinobu Kameyama AU - Hisatoshi Sugiura AU - Tomonori Makiguchi AU - Naoya Fujino AU - Akira Koarai AU - Hiroaki Toyama AU - Kazutomo Saito AU - Yutaka Ejima AU - Yu Kawazoe AU - Daisuke Kudo AU - Shigeki Kushimoto AU - Masanori Yamauchi AU - Masakazu Ichinose TI - Increase in circulating ACE-positive endothelial microparticles during acute lung injury AID - 10.1183/13993003.01188-2018 DP - 2019 Oct 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 1801188 VI - 54 IP - 4 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/54/4/1801188.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/54/4/1801188.full SO - Eur Respir J2019 Oct 01; 54 AB - Circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are considered to be markers of endothelial injury, and lung microvascular endothelial cells express higher levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). The aim of this study is to examine whether the number of ACE+ microvascular EMPs could be a prognostic marker for the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in septic patients.The numbers of EMPs and ACE+ EMPs in the culture supernatant from human microvascular endothelial cells, as well as in the blood of mouse lung injury models and septic patients (n=82), were examined using flow cytometry.ACE+ EMPs in the culture supernatant from pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells increased after exposure to an inflammatory stimulus. In the mouse lung injury models, the circulating ACE+ EMPs and ACE+ EMP/EMP ratio were higher than in the controls (p<0.001). The ACE+ EMP/EMP ratio was correlated with the wet/dry lung ratio (rs=0.775, p<0.001). The circulating ACE+ EMPs and ACE+ EMP/EMP ratio on admission were significantly increased in septic patients who developed ARDS compared with septic patients who did not (p<0.001).Therefore, circulating ACE+ EMPs may be a prognostic marker for the development of ARDS in the septic patients.Circulating ACE+ endothelial microparticles from pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells could be a marker for evaluating the injury of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells and a prognostic marker for developing ARDS in septic patients http://bit.ly/2GeX7ap