Inhibition of the PTEN protects rats against LPS-induced acute lung injury

Aim To investigate the role of inhibition of the PTEN in LPS-induced acute lung injury.Methods Tirty-two male SD rats were divided into LPS group and phen + LPS group(n = 16 each),then the mortality of rats in two groups was compared.Another sixty male SD rats were divided into four groups randomly:control group(n = 6),LPS group(n = 24),phen + LPS group(n = 24),phen group(n = 6).Both LPS group and phen + LPS group were subjected to 1,3,6 h and 12 h time point subgroups after LPS administration(n = 6 each).The concentrations of protein,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) andinterleukin-6(IL-6) inbronch-oalveolar lavage fluids(BALF) were detected.The histopathologic changes of lung tissues,and the expression of p-Akt in lung tissues were also observed.Results Phen pretreatment significantly decreased the LPS-induced lethality(P 0.05).In LPS group,the protein and cytokines in BALF were significantly increased(P 0.05) and the lung tissues showed obviously inflammatory responses under light microscopy,characterized by alveolar hemorrhage,pulmonary interstitial edema,alveolar collapse and massive inflammatory cell infiltration within the lung tissues.Simultaneously,the expres-sions of p-Akt were substantially decreased immediately.Pretreatment with phen in vivo effectively attenuated the lung injury,the concentrations of protein,TNF-α and IL-6 in BALF significantly decreased(P 0.05),and the histopathologic changes of lung tissues were relieved obviously.Furthermore,the expressions of p-Akt were substantially increased(P 0.05).Conclusion Treatment with phen significantly reduces the severity of LPS-induced acute lung injury in rats.