Protective Effect of Shenlian Prescription on Acute Lung Injury Induced by Particulate Matter Exposure in Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo observe the protective effect of Shenlian prescription on acute lung injury induced by particulate matter （PM） exposure in rats and explore the mechanism. MethodFifty male SD rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， Shenlian low-dose group （4.32 g·kg-1）， Shenlian high-dose group （8.64 g·kg-1）， and roflumilast group （3.46 mg·kg-1）， with 10 in each group. Pre-administration with drugs by gavage was performed for one week. On the 8th and 11th days， the control group was instilled with normal saline in the trachea and the other groups with PM suspension to establish a rat model of acute lung injury induced by PM exposure. After modeling， drugs were given continuously until the end of the experiment. Forty-eight hours after the last exposure， the lung function of rats was detected. Then the rats were sacrificed and the lung morphological changes and pathological changes by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining were observed. CD68 expression in lung was detected by immunohistochemistry， and the levels of lung injury markers surfactant protein A （SP-A） and Clara cell protein16 （CC16） in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The mRNA expression of interleukin-1α （IL-1α）， IL-6， IL-18， and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 （MCP-1） in lung tissue was measured by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultCompared with those in the control group， the rats in the model group had decreased lung function and obvious structural damage of lung tissue， PM deposition， and infiltration of CD68 positive cells. The expressions of IL-1α， IL-6， IL-18， and MCP-1 in lung tissue were increased （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Shenlian prescription low and high doses restored the rats' lung function injury（P<0.05，P<0.01）， improved lung morphological and pathological structure， and reduced PM deposition. Infiltration of CD68 positive cells in lung was not significantly decreased. The levels of inflammatory factors IL-1α， IL -6， IL-18， and MCP-1 in lung were lowered （P<0.01）. ConclusionShenlian prescription could protect the rats' lung injury caused by PM exposure， improve lung morphology， and reduce PM deposition and inflammatory factor expression.