Fasudil alleviates lung injury via targeting Rhoa/ROCK signal pathway in septic mice / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To determine the protective effect of fasudil on acute lung injury in septic mice.Methods:Forty-five 4-6-week-old male C57BL mice were randomly(random number) assigned to three groups ( n=15 each group) control group, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) group and Fasudil intervention group (FAS+LPS). Acute lung injury model of septic mice was established with an intraperitoneal injection and intratracheal infusion of LPS. The mice in the FAS+LPS group were injected with fasudil hydrochloride intraperitoneally 30 min before intraperitoneal LPS injection and 1 h after intratracheal LPS infusion, respectively. All mice were sacrificed at 4 h after modeling, and lung tissues were collected. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was preformed to observe the morphological changes in the lung tissue. The wet /dry weight (W/D) ratio, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the lung tissues were detected. Caspase-3 expression was examined by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Western blot was employed to detect the expression of RhoA, ROCK1, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and p-eNOS. Results:Inflammatory cell infiltration and erythrocyte exudation were significantly reduced, and the degree of interstitial oedema and derangement of alveolar structure appeared in a decreasing degree after FAS intervention. Compared with the LPS group, the W/D ratio, MDA content, MPO activity and the expression of Caspase-3 in the FAS+LPS group were significantly reduced (all P<0.01). Meanwhile, the expression of RhoA and ROCK1 of the LPS group were obviously higher than those in the control group ( P<0.05), and p-eNOS was obviously lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of RhoA and ROCK1 of the FAS+LPS group were obviously lower than those in the LPS group, and p-eNOS was obviously higher than that in the LPS group. There was no significant difference on the expression of eNOS among the three groups. Conclusions:Fasudil can alleviate the degree of inflammatory cell infiltration, reduce apoptosis in lung tissue, inhibit the RhoA/ROCK1 signaling activity, and promote the phosphorylation expression of eNOS in septic mice.