Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of pentoxifylline ( PTX )pretreatment on acute lung injury ( ALI) induced by hemorrhagic shock in mice. Methods Ninety mice were randomly divided into three groups, ie. a control group, a hemorrhagic shock group, and a PTX group.Lung histological changes were examined by HE staining. Meanwhile, the wet-to-dry weight ratio ( W/D) and myeloperoxidase ( MPO) activity in lung were measured. The levels of TNF-αand IL-1βin lung homogenatewere measured by ELISA. The expressions of TLR4 mRNA and TLR4 protein in lung were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR ) and Western blot, respectively. Results Hemorrhagic shock induced obvious ALI changes in lungs of the hemorrhagic shock group. W/D and MPO activity were significantly higher in the hemorrhagic shock group than the control group( P lt; 0. 01) . The expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR4 mRNA and TLR4 protein were also significantly higher than the control group( P lt;0. 01) . PTX pretreatment could relieve ALI changes induced by hemorrhagic shock, and decrease W/D and MPO activity. The expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, TLR4 mRNA and TLR4 protein were also decreased by PTX pretreatment. Conclusions PTX pretreatment shows protective effects on ALI afterhemorrhagic shock. Its possible mechanismmay relate to down-regulation of TLR4, thus inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokins.
Objective To investigate the effects of nuclear factor kappa B decoy oligodeoxynucleotides ( NF-κB decoy ODN) transfection on biological characteristics of mature dendritic cells ( mDCs) in mice. Methods Immature DCs were harvested from Balb / c mice bone marrow, followed by the incubation with antigen OVA and LPS, and mature DCs were evaluated by the expressions of CD11c and MHC-Ⅱ detected by FACS. Mature DCs were transfected with NF-κB decoy ODN and the changes of NF-κB activity after the transfection were detected by EMSA. The expressions of the costimulatory molecules( CD40,CD80 and CD86) on DCs were detected by FACS and the proliferation of T cells was tested by mixed lymphocyte reaction( MLR) . Results The mature DCs were cultured successfully. The NF-κB activity of NF-κB decoy ODN transfected DCs was decreased significantly( P lt; 0. 05) . There was no difference in the expressions of CD40 and CD80, but the expression of CD86 was decreased significantly in NF-κB decoy ODN transfection group( P lt; 0. 05) . MLR test showed that the proliferation of T lymphocyte cells was inhibited by NF-κB decoy ODN transfected DCs, but was stimulated bly by the DCs of other groups. Conclusions Mature DCs transfected with NF-κB decoy ODN could inhibit the proliferation and activation of antigenspecical T cells, which was probably related to the down-regulation of CD86 on DCs. This modified DCs might be a promising vaccine for the treatment of asthma in the future.