Effects of taurine on the expression of nitric oxide synthase in lung of rats exposed to silica / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effects of taurine in diet on the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in rat lung induced by silica.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Wistar rats were established by direct tracheal instillation of silica into rat lungs exposed surgically, and the animals of taurine-treated group were silica-instilled with a diet containing taurine. The taurine concentration of serum was analyzed by means of HPLC. The expression of iNOS protein in paraffin-embedded lung sections with Streptavidin/peroxidase (SP) immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray was measured by Image-Pro Plus.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The concentration of taurine in serum of taurine-treated group was significantly higher than those in saline-treated and silica-treated groups (P < 0.05). The activities of total NOS and iNOS in BALF supernatant and iNOS positive area percentage of rat lung in silica-treated group were at the peak on 14th day, which were 1.84 U/ml, 1.12 U/ml and 5.42% more respectively than those in saline-treated group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between taurine-treated group and silica-treated group in total NOS and iNOS activities of BALF supernatant, and iNOS positive area of the lung (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Treatment with taurine hardly influences on the increase in expression of nitric oxide synthase in rat lung induced by silica dust.</p>