BACKGROUND M. Suaveolens Ledeb has long been used in China to treat inflammatory infectious diseases. Melilotus is extracted from Melilotus Suaveolens Ledeb and its therapeutic potential is associated with its anti-inflammatory activity. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its effects are unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of melilotus extract in a rat c...

Mechanical ventilation is an important supportive therapy in the intensive care unit (ICU) to assist the critically ill patients with respiratory failure. But longer ventilation time has been proven to contribute to the lung injury which has been recognized as ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Recently studies have suggested that NF-kappaB signaling pathways may play a critical role in the...

Inflammation is associated with various pulmonary diseases and contributes to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury. We previously identified a proinflammatory signaling pathway triggered by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in which stimulation of G(q)-coupled GPCRs results in activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. Because damage to the lung causes the release of multiple mediator...

Silybin is one of the main flavonoids produced by milk thistle, which has been used in the treatment of liver diseases. In this study, we examined the protective effects and possible mechanisms of action of silybin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‑induced lung injury and inflammation. Pre-treatment of mice with silybin significantly inhibited LPS-induced airway inflammatory cell recruitment, includi...

Acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning is one of the most common forms of pesticide poisoning. Oxidative stress and inflammation are thought to be important mechanisms in PQ-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Selenium (Se) can scavenge intracellular free radicals directly or indirectly. In this study, we investigated whether porous Se@SiO2 nanospheres could alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation in P...

Exposure to high concentration of oxygen (hyperoxia) leads to lung injury in experimental animal models and plays a role in the pathogenesis of diseases such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in humans. The mechanisms responsible for sex differences in the susceptibility towards hyperoxic lung injury remain largely unknown. The major goal of this...

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major cause of morbidity after injury. We hypothesized that alveolar macrophage (AMPhi) chemokine and cytokine release after hemorrhage and sepsis is regulated by NF-kappaB and MAPK. Adult male rats underwent soft tissue trauma and hemorrhagic shock (~90 min) followed by crystalloid resuscitation. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and punct...

BACKGROUND Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and DHA-derived lipid mediators have recently been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties. In fact, DHA can down-regulate lipolysaccharide (LPS)-induced activation of NF-κB via a PPARγ-dependent pathway. We sought to investigate the effects of the novel DHA-derived mediator resolvin D1 (RvD1) on LPS-induced acute lung injury and to ...