ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of azithromycin on airway remodeling and the expression of transforming growth factorβ1 (TGF-β1) in asthmatic mice.Methods BALB/c male mice were random divided into 3 groups:control group(A),asthma group (B),and azithromycin treated group (C),with 10 mice in each group.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was collected to count the number of white blood cells and eosinophilic granulocytes EOS.The morphological parameters of the bronchi were measured by computer image analysis and the pathologic changes of the bronchi and lung tissue were observed by HE staining.The expressions of TGF-β1 were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results The number of EOS in B group was significantly higher than that in control group(8.12 ±0.54 vs 0.70 ±0.40;8.12 ±0.54 vs 0.87 ±0.25,P ＜0.01).WAt and WAi and WAm in group C was significantly lower than that in group B (10.15 ±0.95 vs 15.36 ±0.85,4.16 ±0.32 vs 10.64 ± 1.03,3.77 ±0.15 vs 7.97 ±0.17,P ＜0.01)but higher than that in group A.The expression of TGF-β1 in group C was significantly lower than that in group B but higher than that in group A.TGF-β1 expression of lung tissue in C group was significantly correlated with EOS,(r =0.840,P ＜0.01) and WAt(r =0.735,P ＜0.01) and WAm (r =0.870,P ＜0.01).Conclusion Azithromycin inhibited airway remodeling in asthmatic mice,which might possibly be achieved through inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1.