Human neutrophil elastase causes glycoconjugate release from the epithelial cell surface of hamster trachea in organ culture.

It is known that human neutrophil elastase (HNE) treatment of hamster tracheal explants causes the release of glycoconjugates, most of which appear to have the characteristics of mucus glycoproteins. This study was designed to determine the origin of HNE-induced glycoconjugate release from 1-day-old cultures of adult hamster trachea. After confirming that HNE treatment released glycoconjugates from cultures labeled with tritiated glucosamine, light microscopic autoradiograms and electron micrographs were prepared. Untreated cultures and cultures treated with inactivated HNE served as controls. HNE treatment caused a 40 to 50% decrease in the silver grain count on the external apical surfaces of secretory cells (p less than 0.05) and ciliated cells (p less than 0.01). Silver grain counts in secretory and ciliated cell cytoplasm, submucosa, and nontissue background were not significantly different from controls. The percentage of nongranulated secretory cells and the number of secretory granules in granulated secretory cells were similar in the HNE-treated and untreated controls. There was no evidence of constitutive release of radiolabeled glycoproteins, or of discharge of secretory granules from the secretory cells. We conclude that HNE releases mucins and other glycoconjugates from the external surfaces of both secretory and ciliated cells in tracheal organ culture.