title: Glycyrrhizic Acid Prevents Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury and Mortality in Rats.
abstract: Glycyrrhizic acid (GA), an active ingredient in licorice, has multiple pharmacological activities. However, the effects of GA on sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) have not been determined. Tthe aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanism involved in the effects of GA against sepsis-induced ALI in rats. We found that GA alleviated sepsis-induced ALI through improvements in various pathological changes, as well as decreases in the lung wet/dry weight ratio and total protein content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and a significant increase in the survival rate of treated rats. Additionally, GA markedly inhibited sepsis-induced pulmonary inflammatory responses. Moreover, we found that treatment with GA inhibited oxidative stress damage and apoptosis in lung tissue induced by ALI. Finally, GA treatment significantly inhibited NF-κ B, JNK and P38 MAPK activation. Our data indicate that GA has a protective effect against sepsis-induced ALI by inhibiting the inflammatory response, damage from oxidative stress, and apoptosis via inactivation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways, providing a molecular basis for a new medical treatment for sepsis-induced ALI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China (HZ, MZ, YW, FL, ZZ).
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China (HZ, MZ, YW, FL, ZZ).
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China (HZ, MZ, YW, FL, ZZ).
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China (HZ, MZ, YW, FL, ZZ).
authors.forename: Fengchun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China (HZ, MZ, YW, FL, ZZ).
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000276:immunology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000276:immunology; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000276:immunology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications*; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016328:NF-kappa B; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
keywords: ALI; MAPK; NF-κ B; apoptosis; glycyrrhizic acid; inflammation; oxidative stress