title: Pretreatment with sildenafil alleviates early lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lung ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury plays an important role in lung transplantation. Less well known is the role of sildenafil in lung I/R injury; therefore, we attempted to determine whether sildenafil could alleviate lung apoptosis and tissue injury in a rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into four groups: saline + sham, saline + I/R, sildenafil + sham, and sildenafil + I/R groups. Three hours before the operation, each rat received normal saline or sildenafil (10 mg/kg) by lavage. The animals designed to I/R injury were subjected to 2 h of ischemia induced by occlusion of left pulmonary artery, veins, and bronchus, followed by reperfusion for 2 h. The lung tissue was harvested for the analysis of the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, p53, caspase 3, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6, and wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the saline + sham group, the saline + I/R group had significant increases in Bax, p53, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase 3, IL-6, TNF-α, and W/D weight ratio but a decrease in Bcl-2 (P < 0.05). Compared with the saline + I/R group, sildenafil + I/R group had significant decreases in Bax, p53, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase 3, IL-6, TNF-α level, and W/D weight ratio but an increase in Bcl-2 expression (P < 0.05). Compared with the sildenafil + sham group, there were significant increases in p53 and TNF-α expression in the sildenafil + I/R group (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pretreatment with sildenafil alleviates lung apoptosis and tissue injury in a rat model.
authors: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors: Pin-Keng
authors: PK
authors: Shih
authors: Chih-Mei
authors: CM
authors: Cheng
authors: Hsien-Pin
authors: HP
authors: Li
authors: Meei-Feng
authors: MF
authors: Huang
authors: Chia-Wei
authors: CW
authors: Chiu
authors: Jian-Xun
authors: JX
authors: Chen
authors: Nai-Wei
authors: NW
authors: Chen
authors: Shah-Hwa
authors: SH
authors: Chou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D008297:Male; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D011687:Purines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D013450:Sulfones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C494828:Bax protein, rat; D015850:Interleukin-6; D010879:Piperazines; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011687:Purines; D013450:Sulfones; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Apoptosis; Ischemia-reperfusion injury; Sildenafil