Preventive and therapeutic effects of Danhong injection on lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury in mice.
Danhong injection (DHI), a Chinese Materia Medica standardized product extracted from Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., Labiatae, Danshen in Chinese) and Flos Carthami (Carthamus tinctorius L., Compositae, Honghua in Chinese), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-fibrinolytic properties, which is used extensively for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in clinic.
The present study aimed to investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of DHI on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice.
Lung injury was induced by intranasal instillation with 10 μg LPS. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: Control group; LPS group; LPS+5 ml/kg DHI group and LPS+10 ml/kg DHI group. The effects of DHI on LPS-induced neutrophils influx, inflammatory cytokines release, protein leakage, myeloperoxidase (MPO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, malondialdehyde (MDA) level were examined. In addition, the NF-κB activation in lung tissues was detected by Western blot.
In LPS challenged mice, DHI significantly reduced the infiltration of activated neutrophils and decreased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). DHI also inhibited protein extravasation in BALF, attenuated edema and the pathological changes in the lung. In addition, DHI markedly prevented LPS-induced elevation of MDA and MPO levels, as well as reduction of SOD activity. Further study demonstrated that DHI effectively inhibited the NF-κB activation in lung tissues.
DHI has been demonstrated to protect mice from LPS induced acute lung injury by its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities.
Wan LM
,Tan L
,Wang ZR
,Liu SX
,Wang YL
,Liang SY
,Zhong JB
,Lin HS
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Kadsura heteroclita stem ethanol extract protects against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury in mice via suppression of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis.
Kadsura heteroclita stem (KHS) is a well-known hepatoprotective Tujia ethnomedicine (folk named Xuetong), has long been used for the prevention and treatment of hepatitis and liver diseases.
To explore the protective effects of KHS against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury and the underlying mechanism, particularly antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic potentials.
The acute toxicity of KHS was measured by the method of maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Liver injury in mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 25% carbon tetrachloride (olive oil solubilization) 2 times every week. After modeling, mice in KHS groups were treated with KHS at 100, 200, 400 mg/kg/d, mice in positive control group were treated with bifendate (30 mg/kg/d), and mice in normal and model groups were given ultrapure water. After 4 weeks of treatment, blood of mice was taken from the orbital venous plexus before mice euthanized, the liver, spleen, and thymus of mice were weighed by dissecting the abdominal cavity after mice euthanized. Moreover, the liver of mice was selected for histological examination. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in mice serum were measured using the automatic biochemical analyzer. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), myeloperoxidase (MPO), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPX-2), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), Bcl-2-associated X (Bax), B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Caspase-3, and Caspase-8 in mice liver were measured by Elisa kits. Furthermore, the protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in mice liver tissue was detected by Western blot.
The MTD of KHS was determined to be 26 g/kg in both sexes of mice. Treatment with KHS dose-dependently protected the liver and other main organs against CCl4-induced liver injury in mice. The ALT and AST levels in mice liver were significantly reduced after treatment with KHS at the dose of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. In addition, the liver histopathological analyses revealed that KHS markedly alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration, hepatic fibrosis, hepatocyte ballooning, necrosis and severe apoptosis of hepatocytes induced by CCl4. Further assay indicated that KHS significantly suppressed the production of MDA and MPO, while markedly increased the level of SOD and GPx-2. The TNF-α and IL-6 level in mice liver tissue were decreased by KHS, whereas the IL-10 level was increased. KHS also inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis by significantly reducing the expression of Bax, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, as well as increasing the expression of Bcl-2. Besides, the Western blot results strongly demonstrated that KHS inhibited hepatocyte apoptosis, as evidenced by reducing the expression of Bax protein and increasing the expression of Bcl-2 protein in liver injury tissues.
This research firstly clarified that KHS has a significant protective effect against CCl4-induced liver injury, which might be closely related to alleviating oxidative stress, reducing inflammatory response, and inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis.
Yu HH
,Qiu YX
,Li B
,Peng CY
,Zeng R
,Wang W
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