Therapeutic effect of magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate in rats on lung injury induced by paraquat poisoning.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Magnesium Isoglycyrrhizinate (MgIG) on intercellular adhesion moledule-1 (ICAM-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in rats with Paraquat (PQ) poisoning and its potential mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups, including normal control group, poisoned control group, low-dose MgIG group, medium-dose MgIG group and high-dose MgIG group. Each group was treated with corresponding dose of MgIG once on daily basis by intraperitoneal injection 24 hours later, and the normal control group and poisoned control group were injected with physiological saline. All the animals were killed 14 days after poisoning, the contents of ICAM-1 and matrix MMP-9 were determined. HE staining and Masson staining were performed, the hydroxyproline (HYP) content in the lung tissue was also determined, and the expressions of ICAM-1 and MMP-9 were detected by immunohistochemical test. RESULTS: The contents of ICAM-1 and MMP-9 in the rat serum for all treatment groups were significantly decreased compared with those of the poisoned control group (p < 0.05, or < 0.01), and the expressions of the two proteins were significantly down-regulated, especially for the medium dose group. CONCLUSIONS: There is an improvement effect of ICAM-1 and MMP-9 in rats with Paraquat poisoning for the medium dose of MgIG, capable of slowing down the process of pulmonary fibrosis to certain extent.