Effect of penehyclidine hydrochloride on cell apoptosis in lung tissues in a rat model of traumatic acute lung injury

Objective To investigate the effect of penehyclidine hydrochloride on the cell apoptosis in lung tissues in a rat model of traumatic acute lung injury (ALI) .Methods Fifty-four SD rats weighing 225-275 kg were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n = 18 each) : control group (group C) , ALI group, penehyclidine hydrochloride group ( group P) . Traumatic ALI was induced by dropping a self-made impact device on the chest of anesthetized rats according to the technique described by Raghavendran et al. Intraperitoneal penehyclidine hydrochloride 2 mg/kg was injected immediately after blunt chest trauma and at 12 h after blunt chest trauma in group P. Six rats in each group were sacrificed at 3, 12 and 24 h after blunt chest trauma and the lung tissues collected for microscopic examination and determination of cell apoptosis (by TUNEL) and expression of Bax and Bcl-2 (by immuno-histochemical staining) . The apoptosis index was calculated. Results The apoptosis index and expression of Bax and Bcl-2 were significantly higher, while the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was significantly lower at each time point in groups ALI and P than in group C ( P ＜ 0.05) . The apoptosis index and Bax expression were significantly lower,while the Bcl-2 expression and ratio of Bcl-2/ Bax higher at each time point in group P than in group ALI.The microscopic examination showed that penehyclidine hydrochloride injection significantly attenuated the pathologic changes. Conclusion Penehyclidine hydrochloride can reduce the traumatic ALI through inhibiting the cell apoptosis in rat lung tissues. Key words: Cholinergic antagonists;  Respiratory distress syndrome, adult;  Wounds and injuries; Apoptosis