Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of suramin on inflammatory response in pulmonary tissue and peripheral blood in septic mice. METHODS: Twenty-four male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups, and suramin(5 mg/kg) or normal saline was intravenously injected 30 min before LPS(5 mg/kg)infusion, respectively. The contents of TNF-α and IL-6 in pulmonary tissue and peripheral blood were detected by ELISA. Suramin or saline-pretreated human mononuclear THP-1 cells were treated with 100 ng/mL LPS in vitro. The expression of TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA and the activity of NF-κB were analyzed by quantitative PCR and Western blotting at different time points after LPS treatment, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the saline group, the TNF-α and IL-6 levels in pulmonary tissue and peripheral blood were significantly reduced in suramin group at 24 h after LPS treatment(all P<0.01); while there was no significant difference at 72 h between two groups(all P>0.05). The expression of TNF-α, IL-6 mRNA and the activity of NF-κB was decreased in suramin group at different time points after LPS treatment. CONCLUSION: Suramin can protect LPS-induced acute lung injury through down-regulation of systemic and pulmonary pro-inflammatory factors, which may be associated with the inhibition of NF-κB activity.