Comparison of the effects of low-dose hydrocortisone and Xuebijing injection on acute lung injury in rats

Objective To investigate the efficacy of low-dose hydrocortisone and Xuebijing injection on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by Escherichia coli (E.coli) in rats. Methods ALI model was induced in Wistar rats by intratracheal E.coli injection [3 ml/kg, O111B4, (4.4~5.6)×1012CFU/L], twelve hours later the survived rats were randomly divided into hydrocortisone group (HC) treated with hydrocortisone for two days [5 mg/(kg•d), intraperitoneally], Xuebijing group (X) treated with Xuebijing injection for two days [5 ml/(kg•d), intraperitoneally], and ALI control group (C) treated with normal saline for two days (5 ml/(kg•d), intraperitoneally). And there was a normal control group (N) that received intratracheal E.coli (3 ml/kg) injection and was treated with intraperitoneal normal saline for two days [5 ml/(kg•d)]. Twelve hours after the treatment the rats were killed, and the levels of TNF- and IL-8 in serum were measured by ELASA, then the lung index was calculated. Results There was no difference in mortality among group HC, X and C (χ2=0.194, P=1.000). The levels of TNF- in serum in group HC and X [(80.31±11.87) ng/L and (89.42±22.76) ng/L, respectively] were significantly lower than that in group C [(125.68±27.91) ng/L] (P 0.05); IL-8 in group HC and X [(175.01±40.29) ng/L and (214.38±56.03) ng/L, respectively] were significantly lower than that in group C [(266.48±56.09) ng/L] (P 0.05); The lung index in group HC and X [(0.318±0.058)% and (0.352±0.046)%, respectively] were significantly lower than that in group C [(0.412±0.055)%] (P 0.05). Conclusion Both low-dose hydrocortisone and Xuebijing injection can inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and attenuate pulmonary edema in rats with E.coli-induced ALI with similar effects. Key words: Acute lung injury; Hydrocortisone; Xuebijing injection; Cytokine; Rat