Protective effect of ulinastatin on total hepatic ischemia-reperfusion lung injury in rats

Objective To study the protective effect of ulinastatin on total hepatic ischemia-reperfusion(I-R)lung injury in rats.Methods Twenty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups with 8 rats each.The rats in group C served as sham injury control,those in group I-R underwent 60 min reperfusion after 30 min total hepatic ischemia by clamping the hepatic hilum.The rats in group U were given ulinastatin 5×104 U/kg at 10 min just before the hepatic hilum occlusion,which was followed by I-R as in group I-R.The rats were sacrificed at end point of the operation and lung tissues were divided into several parts for pathological section,pulmonary MPO and SOD activity examination,and detecting MMP14 mRNA with RT-PCR.The total amount protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALFP)and lung dry to wet(D/W)weight ratio were determined as well.Results Compared to groups C and U,the total amount protein in BALFP and MPO in lung tissues were higher,lung D/W ratio and SOD were lower,and MMP14 mRNA in lung tissues was higher significantly in group I-R(P0.05).Conclusion Severe acute lung injury after total hepatic I-R in rats is attenuated by ulinastatin.An inhibition of MMP14 mRNA expression in lung tissues may be one of the mechanisms for that.