Dexmedetomidine-mediated protection against septic liver injury depends on TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling downregulation partly via cholinergic anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

Uncontrolled inflammatory responses exacerbate the pathogenesis of septic acute liver injury (ALI), posing a lethal threat to the host. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been reported to possess protective properties in inflammatory conditions. This study aimed to investigate whether DEX pretreatment exhibits hepatoprotection against ALI induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats and determine its possible molecular mechanism. Septic ALI was induced by intravenous injection of LPS. The rats received DEX intraperitoneally 30 min before LPS administration. α-Bungarotoxin (α-BGT), a specific α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) antagonist, was administered intraperitoneally 1 h before LPS exposure. The role of the vagus nerve was verified by performing unilateral cervical vagotomy or sham surgery before sepsis. The expression of α7nAChR, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), and cleaved caspase-3 increased, peaking 24 h during sepsis. DEX enhanced α7nAChR activation and reduced TLR4 expression upon challenge with LPS. DEX significantly prevented LPS-induced ALI, which was associated with increased survival, the mitigation of pathological changes, the attenuation of inflammatory cytokine expression and apoptosis, and the downregulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Moreover, the hepatoprotective effect of DEX was abolished by α-BGT. Further investigation established that vagotomy, compared to sham surgery, triggered more severe pathogenic manifestations and higher proinflammatory cytokine levels. The inhibitory effects of DEX were shown in sham-operated rats but not in vagotomized rats. Our data highlight the pivotal function of α7nAChR and intact vagus nerves in protecting against LPS-induced ALI through inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway upon pretreatment with DEX.

Zi SF ，Li JH ，Liu L ，Deng C ，Ao X ，Chen DD ，Wu SZ ... -  《-》

Dexmedetomidine attenuates lipopolysaccharide induced acute lung injury in rats by inhibition of caveolin-1 downstream signaling.

Toll-like receptor 4(TLR-4)/nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) pathway plays an important role in inducing acute lung injury (ALI). Studies have proved Dexmedetomidine (Dex) inhibits inflammatory response to mitigate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI and protect against multiorgan injury in various scenarios via restraining TLR-4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Many of the known downstream molecules have been orientated with a protein caveolin-1(Cav-1), which is supposed to take part in regulating TLR4-mediated inflammatory responses. However, its mechanisms have not been confirmed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective effects and potential mechanisms of Dex against LPS-induced ALI in male rats. Male rats received tail-vein injection of LPS to form ALI model. Rats were administrated with intraperitoneal injection Dex0.5 h before ALI. At 6 h after LPS injection, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue were harvested. We stained the lung tissue sections with hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining to observe the histopathological damage and measure the ALI pathology score. We also measured the wet-to-dry(W/D) weight ratio of lung tissue. Lung myeloperoxidase (MPO) and inflammatory cytokines in the BALF were detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Protein levels of Cav-1, TLR-4 and NF-κB in lung tissue were tested by immunohistochemistry method. The mRNA expression of Cav-1, TLR4 and the NF-κB in lung tissue were measured to determine the related mechanisms by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). It was indicated that Dex pretreatment markedly mitigated pathomorphologic changes and pathological lung injury scores. Besides, Dex pretreatment obviously decreased the W/D weight ratio of lung tissue, attenuated MPO activity significantly, along with LPS-stimulated augment of lung inflammatory cells infiltration in BALF. Moreover, compared with LPS model group, Dex pretreatment apparently increased the protein levels of Cav-1 downregulated by sepsis and decreased the protein levels of TLR-4 and NF-κB in lung tissue. Furthermore, Dex pretreatment apparently upregulated the expression of Cav-1 mRNA, restrained TLR4 and NF-κB mRNA. Dex pretreatment protects against LPS-induced ALI via inhibiting the activation of the TLR-4/NF-kB signaling pathway by upregulating the expression of Cav-1 downregulated by sepsis.

Liu J ，Huang X ，Hu S ，He H ，Meng Z ... -  《-》

Dexmedetomidine attenuates inflammatory reaction in the lung tissues of septic mice by activating cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.

Dexmedetomidine (Dex) is a highly selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist that is widely used for sedation in intensive care units and in clinical anesthesia. Dex has also been shown to possess anti-inflammatory benefits. However, the underlying mechanism by which Dex relieves the inflammatory reaction in the lung tissues of septic mice has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the protective effects and possible mechanism of Dex on the sepsis-induced lung inflammatory response in mice. Sepsis was induced in mice models through the intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The preemptive administration of Dex substantially abated sepsis-induced pulmonary edema, pulmonary histopathological changes, and NF-κB p65 activity. The production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) at both the mRNA and protein levels was also reduced. Moreover, these effects were significantly blocked by the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) antagonist α-bungarotoxin (α-Bgt). α-Bgt aggravated pulmonary edema and pulmonary histopathological changes, as well as increased NF-κB p65 activity and TNF-α and IL-6 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels. The overall results demonstrate that Dex inhibits the LPS-induced inflammatory reaction in the lung tissues of septic mice partly through the α7nAChR-dependent cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.

Liu Z ，Wang Y ，Wang Y ，Ning Q ，Zhang Y ，Gong C ，Zhao W ，Jing G ，Wang Q ... -  《-》

The protective effect of dexmedetomidine on LPS-induced acute lung injury through the HMGB1-mediated TLR4/NF-κB and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways.

The aim of present study was to evaluate the protective effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and investigate its possible mechanisms mediated by HMGB1. In vivo, pulmonary pathology observation and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were also examined to evaluate the protective effect of DEX in the lungs. Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), serum and lung tissues LPS-induced rats were detected. The oxidative indices including superoxide dismutase (SOD), Malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum were also determined. Additionally, nitric oxide (NO), TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, MDA, SOD and GSH-Px in the supernatants of LPS-induced BEAS-2B cells were measured. Furthermore, we detected the protein expression of high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiating factor 88 (MyD88), inhibitor of NF-κB (IκBα), p-IκBα, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), p-NF-κB, phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K), p-PI3K, protein kinase B (Akt), p-Akt, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and p-mTOR in LPS-induced ALI rats and LPS-induced BEAS-2B cells. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses of HMGB1 in lung tissues or BEAS-2B cells were also conducted to evaluate the mechanisms of DEX. DEX effectively attenuated pulmonary pathology, and ameliorated the levels of MPO, SOD, MDA, GSH-Px, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and NO in LPS-stimulated rats and BEAS-2B cells. Additionally, treatment with DEX inhibited the expression of HMGB1, TLR4, MyD88, p-IκB, p-NF-κB, p-PI3K, p-Akt and p-mTOR in vivo and in vitro. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses also showed that DEX suppressed HMGB1 levels in lung sections and BEAS-2B cells. Treatment with glycyrrhizin, an inhibitor of HMGB1, confirmed that HMGB1 was involved in the mechanism of DEX on LPS-induced ALI. The transfection of HGMB1 siRNA also confirmed these findings in vitro. In conclusion, the present study showed that DEX exerted a protective effect on LPS-induced ALI rats likely through the HMGB1-mediated TLR4/NF-κB and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways.

Meng L ，Li L ，Lu S ，Li K ，Su Z ，Wang Y ，Fan X ，Li X ，Zhao G ... -  《-》

Effect of dexmedetomidine on kidney injury in sepsis rats through TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB/iNOS signaling pathway.

Jin YH ，Li ZT ，Chen H ，Jiang XQ ，Zhang YY ，Wu F ... -  《-》