Dihydroartemisinin alleviates lung injury in rat models with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)

Abstract

Objective To investigate the impacts of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on airway inflammation and lung injury in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rats by inhibiting interleukin (IL)-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 signaling pathway. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into control group, COPD group, low and high dose DHA (L-DHA, H-DHA) groups and neutralized IL-6 group. The inflammatory factors[IL-6, IL-1β, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)] in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured by ELISA; The total number of cells in BALF and the numbers of inflammatory cell types[eosinophils (Eos), neutrophils (Neu), lymphocytes (Lym)] were counted. The pathological changes of lung tissue were microscopied with HE staining and Masson staining; The expression of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway proteins in lung tissue was measured by Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, the level of IL-6, IL-1β, IL-17, TNF-α, the total number of cells, the numbers of Eos, Neu and Lym cells in the BALF of the COPD group all increased (P＜0.05); The lung tissue was obviously damaged, and the phosphorylation level of IL-6 protein and STAT3 in lung tissue increased (P＜0.05). After the intervention with L-DHA, H-DHA and neutralized IL-6, the above conditions were improved (P＜0.05). Conclusions DHA can reduce airway inflammation and lung tissue damage in COPD rat models, the potential mechanisms may be related to the inhibition of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Keywords

• dihydroartemisinin|chronic obstructive pulmonary disease|il-6/stat3 signaling pathway|airway inflammation|lung injury