Protective effect of Xuebijing injection on paraquat-induced pulmonary injury via down-regulating the expression of p38 MAPK in rats

Abstract

BackgroundExposure to paraquat results in acute lung injury. A systemic inflammatory response has been widely established as a contributor to paraquat-induced acute lung injury. Recent studies have reported that consumption of Xuebijing prevents inflammatory response-induced diseases. This study investigated whether consumption of Xuebijing protected rats against paraquat-induced acute lung injury.MethodsAdult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group; paraquat group; paraquat + Xuebijing group; and paraquat + dexamethasone group. Rats in the paraquat, paraquat + Xuebijing and paraquat + dexamethasone groups were intraperitoneally injected with paraquat (30 mg/kg) or administered paraquat and Xuebijing at 8 mL/kg or dexamethasone at 5 mg/kg, respectively, via an injection into the tail vein. Lung p38 MAPK, NF-κB65, IkB, p-IκB-α, HIF-1α, Nrf2 and TGF-β1 expression were essayed using western blotting. IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, TGF-β1 and PIIIP were measured using ELISA. ROS, oxidised glutathione and glutathione activity were measured.ResultsAfter inducing acute lung injury with paraquat for 24 h, Xuebijing was observed to block lung p-p38 MAPK, NF-κB65, HIF-1α, p-IκB-α and TGF-β1 expression, and increased Nrf2 and IkB expression. The numbers of neutrophils and lymphocytes and total number of cells were significantly lower in the Xuebijing group compared with the control group. IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, TGF-β1 and PIIIP levels were significantly decreased in the Xuebijing group. ROS and oxidised glutathione activity were markedly inhibited by Xuebijing. Histological evaluation showed attenuation of the effects of Xuebijing on paraquat-induced lung injury. Compared with the paraquat + dexamethasone group, the Xuebijing + paraquat group showed no significant differences.ConclusionsInhibiting the expression of p38 MAPK and NF-κB65 was crucial for the protective effects of Xuebijing on paraquat-induced acute lung injury. The findings suggest that Xuebijing could effectively ameliorate paraquat-induced acute lung injury in rats. Xuebijing was as effective as dexamethasone at improving paraquat-induced lung injury by regulating lung inflammation, lung function and oxidative stress responses.

Intravenous injection of Xuebijing attenuates acute kidney injury in rats with paraquat intoxication

“…[8] Xuebijing injection is developed into an intravenous preparation based on Xuefu Zhuyu decoction, which has many beneficial effects against bacterial toxins, reducing endotoxin, [9] suppressing the generation and release of infl ammatory mediators, [10] regulating the immune system, [11] and protecting microcirculation and vascular endothelial cells. [12] In line with our study, [4] Xuebijing had therapeutic benefi ts regulating lung infl ammation and lung function.…”

“…One hour after administration of paqaquat, the rats were treated with Xuebijing (8mL/kg, HongRi Pharmaceutical Company, Tianjin) by injecting into the tail vein. [4] The rats from the sham group received 2 mL/kg of normal saline intravenously. At 12 hours after administration of paraquat, the rats were deeply anesthetized and sacrifi ced for renal function assessment (blood urea nitrogen and creatinine), mRNA level measurements, and pathological examination.…”

“…Xuebijing injection is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation that has been proved to exert strong antiinflammatory effects. [4] Many studies had shown that Xuebijing treatment could prevent infl ammatory responseinduced diseases including systemic inflammatory response syndrome and pyemia. [5][6] Therefore, the research mainly investigated the protective effects of Xuebijing injection on paraquat-induced acute kidney injury in rats.…”

Microarray expression profiles of genes in lung tissues of rats subjected to focal cerebral ischemia-induced lung injury following bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation

“…The extent of the pathological injury was determined using the following 4 categories: alveolar septa, alveolar hemorrhage and intra-alveolar fibrin, intra-alveolar infiltrations per field. The final average total lung injury scores of the 4 categories were the mean values from the 3 researchers, as previously described (28). …”

Silymarin attenuates paraquat‐induced lung injury via Nrf2‐mediated pathway in vivo and in vitro

“…It is reported that several inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF‐ α , IL‐6 and IL‐1 β , are involved in the inflammatory response during acute lung injury . TGF‐ β 1 is known to enhance the fibrotic process by enhancing fibroblast growth and collagen production . A previous study has elaborated that blockage of TNF‐ α with either antagonist or anti‐TNF‐ α antibody can inhibit fibrogenesis .…”