Expression of Heme Oxygenase-1 in the Lung of Paraquat Poisoning Rats and Protective Function of Panax Notoginseng Saponins

Objective To explore the expression of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) in the lung of paraquat poisoning rats and the protection function of panax notoginseng saponins(PNS).Methods One hundred and fifty SD male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: normal control group(group C,n=30),paraquat poisoning group(group PQ,n=70),and drug intervention group(group PNS,n=70).The groups PQ and PNS rats were given paraquat by gastric perfusion(25 mg/kg);The group C rats were given saline by gastric perfusion.The rats in group PNS were protected by intravenous injection on penis with PNS(50 mg/kg) for 15 min before exposure of paraquat once a day until they were killed.The groups PQ and C rats were given saline.Histological changes of lung tissues under light microscope were observed.The HO-1 protein was evaluated by western blot and the expression of HO-1 mRNA in the lung tissues of rats were measured by RT-PCR at different time points: 6 hours,12 hours,1 day,3 days and 7 days after poisoning.Results The relative magnitude expressions of HO-1 protein and HO-1 mRNA in group C were weak or zero.The relative magnitude expressions of HO-1 protein and HO-1 mRNA in PNS(6 hours),PNS(12 hours),PNS(1 day) and PNS(3 days) subgroups were significantly higher compared with group PQ(P 0.05).The pathological scores of lung injury in PQ(6 hours),PQ(12 hours),PQ(1 day) and PQ(3 days) subgroups were significantly higher compared with group PNS(P 0.05).Conclusion The aggravation of lung injury induced by paraquat in mice is related to the expression of HO-1 protein and HO-1 mRNA in lung tissues.PNS can effectively improve the expression of HO-1 protein and HO-1 mRNA in the lung tissue and reduce the pathological changes of lung tissue.