Effect of fasudil on activation of nuclear factor-kappa B in lung tissue of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury rats

Objective To explore the effect of fasudil on activation of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) in lung tissue of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced acute lung injury(ALI) rats.Methods A total of 45 male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups,control group(n=15),LPS group(n=15) and fasudil group(n=15).ALI was induced by injecting LPS intravenously(5 mg/kg) in LPS group and fasudil group.The fasudil group was intraperitoneally injected fasudil(10 mg/kg) 30 minutes before LPS injection.By 3,6 and 12 hours after LPS injection,the pathomorphism changes of lung tissue were observed,the level of NF-κB in lung tissue was examined with immunohistochemistry,and the expressions of NF-κB and IKB-α were analyzed by Western blot.Results The pathological changes were more obvious in LPS group than those in fasudil group(P0.05).Immunohistochemical staining showed that the pulmonary positive expressions of NF-κB increased obviously in LPS group in comparison with control group(P0.05),which were expressed in neutrophils,macrophages,bronchiole mucosa epithelial cells and alveolar epithelial cells.Compared with LPS group,the expression of NF-κB decreased significantly in fasudil group(P0.05).Western blot showed that the expression of NF-κB increased greatly at every time point in LPS group compared with control group,and decreased in fasudil group compared with LPS group(P0.05),and inhibitory subunit of NF-κB decreased markedly in LPS group compared with control group(P0.05).Conclusion Fasudil could attenuate the degree of LPS-induced acute lung injury of rats,which may be related to inhibiting the activation of NF-κB in lung tissue.