Studies on the protective effects of adenosine in acute lung injury induced by central nervous system oxygen toxicity

Abstract

Objective To investigate the protective effects of adenosine in acute lung injury induced by central nervous system (CNS) oxygen toxicity in the rats exposed to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and to further confirm the effects of adenosine against CNS oxygen toxicity.  Methods The rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the blank control group, the solvent-control group and the adenosine group. The blank control group didn't receive any treatment, while the solvent-control group and the adenosine group were respectively treated with normal physiological saline and adenosine(160 μg). Then, the animals were exposed to HBO at a dosage of 0.6 MPa for 30 minutes and observations were made on the hemorrhage on the surface of the lungs. Samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected for protein level detection, and lung tissues were collected for water level and pathological detection. Results Pulmonary surface bleeding of the adenosine group was significantly alleviated as compared with that of the vehicle-control group. Microscopic detection displayed that inflammatory cell infiltration, hemorrhage and pulmonary edema of the adenosine group were all decreased to some extent. In addition, BALF protein level of the adenosine group was also significantly decreased [(0.21±0.19) mg/L], as compared with that of the solvent-control group [(0.73±0.23) mg/L]. The protein level of the solvent-control group was also significantly increased, as compared with that of the blank control group [(0.10±0.02) mg/L], with statistical significance(P 0.05). Conclusions Results indicated that adenosine could significantly alleviate acute pulmonary injury induced by CNS oxygen toxicity, which further demonstrated that adenosine had certain protective effects on CNS oxygen toxicity. Key words: Adenosine; Central nervous system oxygen toxicity; Acute lung injury; Hyperbaric oxygen; Rats