Protective effect of endothelial progenitor cells on acute lung injury in rabbits / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assay the protective effect of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) on acute lung injury (ALI) in rabbits.Methods Forty male New Zealand rabbits were divided into EPCs low-dose group,EPCs mid-dose group,EPCs high-dose group,ALI group,and control group according to the random number table,with 8 rabbits per group.Emulsified oleic acid was used to induce ALl.Instead,saline emulsion was injected to rabbits in control group.PBS containing 1 × 105,1 × 106,and 1 ×107 EPCs were respectively administered to rabbits in EPCs low-dose,mid-dose,and high-dose groups; on the contrary,blank PBS was injected to rabbits in ALI and control groups.Lung weight to dry ratio (W/D) and pulmonary permeability index (PPI) were detected before and after operation; protein expressions of TNF-α and IL-1 βby western blot,and mRNA expression of NF-κB by RT-PCR.Results PPI and W/D value lowered in EPCs low-dose group (15.0 ± 1.1,5.04 ± 0.11),mid-dose group (13.8 ± 0.7,4.80 ± 0.13),and high-dose group (13.7 ± 0.7,4.87 ± 0.08) when compared to 17.1 ± 1.5 and 5.21 ±0.05 in ALI group (P ＜0.05).EPCs low-dose,mid-dose,and high-dose groups showed decreased levels in NF-κB (0.75 ± 0.04,0.41 ± 0.05,0.42 ± 0.03),TNF-α (0.364 ± 0.020,0.312 ±0.015,0.310 ±0.013),and IL-1β (0.230 ±0.017,0.206 ±0.010,0.210 ±0.018) compared to ALI group (0.87 ±0.11,0.387 ±0.018,0.262 ±0.019,P ＜0.05).Moreover,all indicators were lowered significantly in EPCs mid-dose and high-dose groups when compared to EPCs low-dose (P ＜0.05),but the two groups themselves revealed no statistical difference.Conclusion EPCs protect ALI via improving pulmonary edema,pulmonary permeability,and inflammatory response in a dose-dependent correlation with EPCs,but ceiling effect is observed as well.