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  2. Shikonin ameliorates lipoteichoic acid‑induced acute lung injury via promotion of neutrophil apoptosis

Shikonin ameliorates lipoteichoic acid‑induced acute lung injury via promotion of neutrophil apoptosis

  • Mol Med Rep. 2021 Feb;23(2):133. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2020.11772.
Yong Zhang # 1 Haibo Zhang # 2 Muqun Wang 1 Shan Gao 1 Lei Hong 1 Tingting Hou 1 Yaoyao Zhang 1 Yuling Zhu 1 Feng Qian 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233004, P.R. China.
  • 2 Engineering Research Center of Cell and Therapeutic Antibody, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P.R. China.
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

Shikonin is the major active component in Lithospermum erythrorhizon and has pharmacological effects including reducing inflammation, aiding resistance to bacteria and promoting wound healing. However, the effect of shikonin on lipoteichoic acid (LTA)‑induced acute lung injury (ALI) remains to be elucidated. ALI is a serious illness resulting from significant pulmonary inflammation caused by various diseases, such as sepsis, acid aspiration and trauma. The present study found that shikonin significantly attenuated LTA‑induced ALI. Following shikonin treatment, the accumulation of pulmonary neutrophils and expression of TNFα, IL‑1β and IL‑6 were decreased in mice with LTA‑induced ALI. Furthermore, Shikonin promoted neutrophil Apoptosis by increasing the activation of caspase‑3 and reducing the expression of the antiapoptotic myeloid cell leukemia‑1 (Mcl‑1) protein. However, shikonin treatment did not influence the expression of B‑cell lymphoma‑2. The findings of the present study demonstrated that shikonin protected against LTA‑induced ALI by promoting Caspase-3 and Mcl‑1‑related neutrophil Apoptosis, suggesting that shikonin is a potential agent that can be used in the treatment of sepsis‑mediated lung injury.

Keywords

shikonin; lipoteichoic acid; acute lung injury; neutrophil; apoptosis; myeloid cell leukemia‑1.

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