Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Sun Wei
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Nie Bin
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Li Juan-juan
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Jing Fei
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Zhou Xiao-li
Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Ni Xin-ye
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
Ni Xin-chu
Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou Second People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, No. 68, Gehuzhonglu Road, Wujin District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, China
To investigate the effect of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) transplantation on radiation-induced lung injury (RILI), Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) group, ASCs group, Radiation + PBS group, and Radiation + ASCs group. Radiation + PBS and Radiation + ASCs groups received single dose of 30 Gy X-ray radiation to the right chest. The Radiation + PBS group received 1 mL PBS suspension and Radiation + ASCs group received 1 mL PBS suspension containing 1 × 107 CM-Dil-labeled ASCs. The right lung tissue was collected on Days 30, 90, and 180 after radiation. Hematoxylin–eosin and Masson staining were performed to observe the pathological changes and collagen fiber content in the lung tissue. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot (WB) were used to detect levels of fibrotic markers collagen I (Collal), fibronectin (FN), as well as transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), p-Smad 3, and Smad 3. Compared with the non-radiation groups, the radiation groups showed lymphocyte infiltration on Day 30 after irradiation and thickened incomplete alveolar walls, collagen deposition, and fibroplasia on Days 90 and 180. ASCs relieved these changes on Day 180 (Masson staining, P = 0.0022). Compared with Radiation + PBS group, on Day 180 after irradiation, the Radiation + ASCs group showed that ASCs could significantly decrease the expressions of fibrosis markers Collal (IHC: P = 0.0022; WB: P = 0.0087) and FN (IHC: P = 0.0152; WB: P = 0.026) and inhibit the expressions of TGF-β1 (IHC: P = 0.026; WB: P = 0.0152) and p-Smad 3 (IHC: P = 0.0043; WB: P = 0.0087) in radiation-induced injured lung tissue. These indicated that ASCs could relieve RILI by inhibiting TGF-β1/Smad 3 signaling pathway.
