Protective effects of isoliensinine on acute lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis induced by paraquat / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM To evaluate the beneficial effects of isoliensinine on paraquat(PQ)-induced acute lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis and explore the mechanism of its action. METHODS PQ (45 mg·kg-1, ip)-induced acute lung injury and PQ (100 mg·kg-1, ig)-induced pulmonary fibrosis were prepared. At 8, 24 and 48 h after PQ administration, the effects of isoliensinine (20 mg·kg-1, ig, 3 times a day, from 24 h before PQ administration to the end of experiment) on activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of acute lung injury groups were evaluated respectively. On the 14 d following PQ ingestion, the effects of isoliensinine (10, 20 and 40 mg·kg-1, ig, twice a day, from 24 h before PQ administration to the end of experiment) on hydroxyproline content, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expressions and the histopathological changes in lung tissues of pulmonary fibrosis groups were observed. RESULTS In the acute lung injury model, isoliensinine (20 mg·kg-1) significantly increased SOD activity, and decreased MDA content and ALP activity, as well as ameliorated the histopathological damage of lung tissue compared with PQ group. However, the indexes mentioned above in isoliensinine alone group did not change obviously compared with normal saline group. In the pulmonary fibrosis model, isoliensinine (10, 20 and 40 mg·kg-1) resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of hydroxyproline content compared with PQ group [(2.11±0.21), (1.94±0.24) and (1.89±0.26), respectively, vs (2.44±0.33) mg·g-1 wet tissue]. The expressions of TGF-β1 and MMP-2 in the lung tissue of the isoliensinine 40 mg·kg-1+PQ group were significantly less than those of the PQ group. Furthermore, isoliensinine could improve the histopathological changes of fibrosis as comparison with PQ group. CONCLUSION Isoliensinine has protective effects on PQ-induced acute lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis.