title: Silibinin attenuates methotrexate-induced pulmonary injury by targeting oxidative stress.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess the protective effect of silibinin against methotrexate (MTX)-induced pulmonary toxicity. Rats were divided into four groups (MTX, MTX + silibinin, silibinin and control. MTX was injected intraperitoneally (i.p) into female Wistar rats (10 mg/kg/day for 3 days), which resulted in significant increases in the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and oxidant enzymes, including nitric oxide and myeloperoxidase. Furthermore, significant reductions were detected in the serum activity levels of the antioxidative enzymes, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, when compared with the control group. However, administration of silibinin (100 mg/kg/day for 10 days, i.p.) was shown to ameliorate the MTX-induced pulmonary toxicity, as indicated by the normalization of the oxidative stress parameters. Furthermore, silibinin treatment was demonstrated to reduce the histopathological changes associated with MTX. In conclusion, silibinin exhibited protective effects against MTX-induced pulmonary toxicity, which may be attributed to its antioxidant activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalemci
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yasar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Topal
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan Yasar
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nigar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Beydilli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Ilkay
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Kosar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Medical Faculty, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta 32000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nigar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dirican
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla 48000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Irfan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Altuntas
keywords: antioxidant; methotrexate; pulmonary toxicity; rat; silibinin