Effect of reduced glutathione tablets on radiation-induced lung injury in mice

Objective To study the effects and underlying mechanism of reduced glutathione (GSH) tablets on radiation-induced lung injury in mice. Methods A total of 100 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: 15 Gy, 15 Gy+ GSH, 30 Gy, 30 Gy+ GSH, and healthy control group. Mice of GSH groups were intraperitoneally injected with 0.2 ml of 240 mg/ml GSH, and other two radiation alone groups were treated with an equal volume of saline. The mice were delivered with 15 Gy (30 Gy) of X-rays to build a RILI model. At 0, 1, 2, 3 weeks after irradiation, blood samples were collected for ELISA measurements of MMP-9, TIMP-1, IL-4 and IL-6, the lung pathology was detected by HE, and the mouse weight and immune system were also analyzed. Results The mice spleen index fell sharply after irradiation and the decline rate decreased with increasing dose (F=29.84, P<0.05), then this index slowly increased at 1 week after irradiation along with radiation dose (F=13.91, 4.61, P<0.05). The expressions of MMP-9 and IL-6 in blood serum increased along with radiation dose (F=81.27, 10.86, P<0.05), but those of TIMP-1 and IL-4 decreased. In addition, following irradiation, the expression of MMP-9 increased at first and then decreased (F=52.22, P<0.05), while the expressions of TIMP-1 and IL-4 dropped immediately at first, and then increased until at 3 week after radiation(F=138.96, 8.48, P<0.05), and the expression of IL-6 gradually increased. Conclusions GSH has significant radioresistant effect on RILI, especially at low dose. Key words: Mice; Glutathione; Radiation-induced lung injury; Cytokines