title: Protective effects of thalidomide on pulmonary injuries in a rat model of paraquat intoxication.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of thalidomide on paraquat (PQ)-induced lung injuries in a rat model and to explore the underlying mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were exposed to 50 mg/kg PQ by oral gavage, and treated with thalidomide through oral administration at 60 mg/kg once a day, 6 days/week for 2 weeks. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGFbeta1 and COL1A1 were detected at different time points after paraquat exposure. At the end of the study, lung tissues were collected for pathological inspection as well as analyses of water content and expression levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGFbeta1 and COL1A1 mRNA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that thalidomide treatment could significantly alleviate PQ-induced pathological changes in lung tissue and severity of lung edema. Thalidomide treatment after PQ exposure resulted in significantly reduced serum levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and COL1A1, as compared to PQ group. PCR analysis demonstrated that expression levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and COL1A1 in lung tissue were significantly increased after PQ exposure but reduced by thalidomide, which were confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated that inflammatory factors played important roles in PQ-induced lung injuries and thalidomide could protect rats from PQ-induced lung injuries by inhibiting the upregulation of inflammatory factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China ; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Changchun City, No. 69 Beian Road, Changchun, 130061 Chaoyang District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology, People's Procuratorate of Jilin Province, No. 1333 Jingyang Road, Changchun, 130062 Lvyuan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Jilin University, No. 1163 Xinmin Avenue, Changchun, 130021 Chaoyang District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Bo
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xing-Hai
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218 Ziqiang Street, Changchun, 130041 Nanguan District People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ke-Xiang
authors.initials: KX
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: Lung injury; Paraquat; Protective effects; Thalidomide