Resveratrol Prevents Hyperoxia‐Induced Lung Inflammation

Abstract

Prolonged oxygen exposure of preterm infants results in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease characterized with lung inflammation, remodeling and airway reactivity. Unfortunately, therapeutic options are limited. Resveratrol is known to have anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidant properties in different diseases, however it is not clear about its effects on BPD. In this study we investigated the effects of resveratrol in a rat pup model of BPD. We hypothesize that supplementation of rat pups with resveratrol prevents the lung inflammation induced by hyperoxia. At P5 rat pups were assigned either to room air (21% O2)‐ or hyperoxic (≥95% O2)‐groups and exposed for seven days. During this time, animals were supplemented daily with resveratrol (30 mg/kg of body weight; i.p.) or vehicle. At day P12 animals were euthanized and lungs were harvested, and processed for biochemical and immunohistochemistry studies. Pro‐inflammatory cytokines’ levels (IL‐1β and TNF‐α) were measured in whole lung homogenate using ELISA method. Immunostaining for T‐lymphocyte marker (CD3), B‐lymphocyte marker (CD20) and CD45 was performed on 5 μm lung sections. Levels of IL‐1β and TNF‐α in lung tissue of hyperoxic group of animals were increased significantly (p < 0.01) compared to room air group animals. Supplementation of hyperoxic animals prevented this increase of IL‐1β and TNF‐α, while did not change in room air animals. In hyperoxic animals there was an abundance of CD3, CD20 and CD45 stained cells in the lungs of rat pups exposed to hyperoxia compared to room air exposed pups. Supplementation of hyperoxic animals with resveratrol reduced the number of CD3, CD20 and CD45 stained cells. We conclude that resveratrol prevents lung inflammation induced by neonatal hyperoxia and we speculate that resveratrol might be an effective therapeutic approach to prevent the adverse effects of neonatal hyperoxia. Support or Funding Information Supported by MEST