These studies provide experimental evidence supporting the notion that prophylactic statin therapy can exert protective benefits

against CAP in humans; however these effects are modest in mice at the maximum recommended dose of simvastatin for humans. Materials and methods Mice and simvastatin diet All experiments were performed in compliance with approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols. Female 12-16 week old BALB/c mice were purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, MA). Rodent chow containing simvastatin (Sigma, St. Louis MO) at 0 mg/kg (control), 12 mg/kg (low simvastatin diet [LSD]), or 120 mg/kg (high simvastatin diet [HSD]) was prepared by Purina TestDiet (Richmond, IN) and fed ad libitum selleck screening library for ≥4 weeks. For a 25-30 g mouse consuming 2-2.5 g of chow per day these diets correspond to 1.0 and 10 mg/kg/day

of simvastatin, respectively. Previous studies have confirmed a therapeutic effect for LSD and HSD by testing for a reduction in serum cholesterol [14]. Assessment of disease severity S. pneumoniae serotype 4, strain TIGR4 was grown in Todd Hewitt Broth at 37°C in 5% CO2[15]. Animals were anesthetized with vaporized isoflurane and 105 cfu in 100 μl phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was delivered intratracheally by forced inhalation [16]. Mice were euthanized and bacterial burden in the lungs was assessed per gram of homogenized tissue. Alternatively, bacteremia and mortality was assessed over 7 days [17]. In intervention experiments, beginning at 48 h post-challenge, mice LY3039478 were administered ampicillin (80 mg/kg) at 12 h intervals. Lungs sections (5 μm) were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and scored in a blind manner based on lung consolidation,

evidence of hemorrhage, and extent of cellular infiltration. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) Mice were euthanized by CO2 asphyxiation. Following surgical visualization of the trachea, BAL was performed by insertion of a 0.18 gauge angiocatheter and flushing of the lungs with 0.5 ml ice-cold PBS until a total volume of 3 ml Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II was obtained. BAL fluid was strained (40-μM) and centrifuged. The cellular fraction was suspended in 1 ml PBS and total cell counts were determined using a hemocytometer. Differential cell counts were done following cytospin and staining with a Diff-Quick Staining Kit (IMEB Inc.); >300 cells were counted in three separate fields for each mouse. Albumin and cytokine analysis Epoxomicin nmr Vascular leakage in BAL fluid was assessed using a mouse albumin ELISA Quantitation Set (Bethyl Laboratories, Inc., Montgomery, TX). Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)α, Interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-12, Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, and Interferon (IFN)γ in BAL fluid and serum samples were performed using a Mouse Inflammatory Cytometric Bead Array (BD Biosciences).