Albumin resuscitation protects against traumatic/hemorrhagic shock-induced lung apoptosis in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of albumin administration on lung injury and apoptosis in traumatic/hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) rats. METHODS: Studies were performed on an in vivo model of spontaneously breathing rats with induced T/HS; the rats were subjected to femur fracture, ischemia for 30 min, and reperfusion for 20 min with Ringer's lactate solution (RS) or 5% (w/v) albumin (ALB), and the left lower lobes of the lungs were resected. RESULTS: Albumin administered during reperfusion markedly attenuated injury of the lung and decreased the concentration of lactic acid and the number of in situ TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL)-positive cells. Moreover, immunohistochemistry performed 24 h after reperfusion revealed increases in the level of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the albumin-untreated group was down-regulated by albumin treatment when compared with the sham rats. CONCLUSION: Resuscitation with albumin attenuates tissue injury and inhibits T/HS-induced apoptosis in the lung via the p38 MAPK signal transduction pathway that functions to stimulate the activation of NF-kappaB.