Chapter 23 - Oleic Acid and Lung Injury

Abstract

Lung injury especially acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be triggered by diverse stimuli, including fatty acids. ARDS affects thousands of people worldwide each year, presenting a high mortality rate and impacting the economy, because most ARDS patients need intensive care units treatment. The lung injury hallmark is edema formation with alveoli flooding. Animals models are used to study mechanisms and deepen the understanding of lung injury. Oleic acid-induced lung injury is a relevant model sharing numerous features with human disease. Oleic acid is an n-9 monounsaturated fatty acid obtained from the diet or produced endogenously. The oleic acid has metabolic/physiologic and deleterious effects on the body. In this chapter we address some basic concepts about fatty acids (mainly oleic acid), discussing its involvement in metabolic and inflammatory diseases and focusing on the importance of oleic acid to lung injury. We briefly discuss lung structure; pulmonary type I and II cells functions, and molecules, such as sodium channel and Na/K-ATPase, involved in those functions. We discuss what is currently known about lung injury and mechanisms involved in ARDS physiopathology and putative targets for its treatment. We further discuss mechanisms likely involved in oleic acid-induced lung injury, and we also bring about the lung injury animal models and their significance for ARDS understanding. Finally, we briefly discuss the importance of ARDS models, especially oleic acid-induced lung injury model, to identify and test potential targets in therapeutic options for ARDS.