All animals were relatively recovered by 24 h. Intratracheal instillation of NH<sub>3</sub> (1%) caused early symptoms of ALI including airway hyperresponsiveness, neutrophilic lung inflammation and altered levels of coagulation factors (increased fibrinogen and PAI-1) and early biomarkers of ALI (IL-18, MMP-9, TGFβ) which was followed by increased deposition of newly produced collagen 14 days later.
Expansion of CD4(+) CD25(+) and CD25(-) T-Bet, GATA-3, Foxp3 and RORγt cells in allergic inflammation, local lung distribution and chemokine gene expression.
These findings suggest that endogenous IL-18 functions as a proinflammatory cytokine in this model of acute lung inflammation, serving as an autocrine activator to bring about expression of other inflammatory mediators.