Urolithin A induces protective autophagy to alleviate inflammation, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress in pediatric pneumonia

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of urolithin A (UA) on pediatric pneumonia and the underlying mechanisms. Methods The pediatric infantile pneumonia model was constructed by intratracheal induction of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in 1-week-old C57BL/6 mice (male, 4–5 g). UA was also injected intraperitoneally. Lung tissues in each group were examined by histological analysis. Autophagy, inflammation, and oxidative stress were assessed by enzyme-linked--immunosorbent serologic assay and immunoblot analysis. Moreover, pyrophosis and endoplasmic reticulum stress were also evaluated by immunoblot analysis. Results UA alleviated lung inflammation in mice, and inhibited cell pyrophosis. In addition, UA A relieved both oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Furthermore, we found that UA alleviated pneumonia damage by inducing protective autophagy. Conclusion UA induced protective autophagy to alleviate inflammation, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress in pediatric pneumonia (AU)