ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Lianggesan on the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in rats with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury and explore the possible mechanisms of the therapeutic effects.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Endotoxemia was induced in Wistar rats by intravenous injection of LPS (5 mg/kg). The rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, namely the control group, acute lung injury group (LPS group), 3 Lianggesan groups treated at different doses, and LPS+DEX treatment group. Each group, except for the control group, was further divided into 5 subgroups and examined at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 h after LPS injection. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of STAT1 and p-STAT1 in the lung tissue.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In LPS group, the expression of STAT1 began to increase at 1 h following LPS injection, reaching the peak level at 4 h; the peak expression of p-STAT1 occurred at 2 h after LPS administration (P<0.01). Compared with LPS group, the 3 Lianggesan groups and DEX group showed significantly decreased expressions of STAT1 and p-STAT1 at 2, 4 and 8 h after LPS injection (P<0.05 or 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Abnormal expression of STAT1 occurs in the lung tissue in the event of ALI. Lianggesan can relieve LPS-induced acute lung injury in rats by decreasing the expression of STAT1 and p-STAT1.</p>