Dexmedetomidine ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway

• Published in: Journal of anesthesia Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 394 - 404
• Main Authors: Cui, Haibin, Zhang, Qian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01.06.2021; Springer
• Subjects: Acute Lung Injury - chemically induced; Acute Lung Injury - drug therapy; Anesthesiology; Animals; Apoptosis; Critical Care Medicine; Dexmedetomidine; Dexmedetomidine - pharmacology; Emergency Medicine; Forkhead Box Protein O1; Inflammation; Inositol; Intensive; Interleukins; Lipopolysaccharides - toxicity; Lung - metabolism; Lung diseases; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mitogens; Original; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Superoxide; Type 2 diabetes; Lipopolysaccharide; Acute lung injury; Oxidative stress; Inflammation; PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway; Dexmedetomidine
• ISSN: 0913-8668; 1438-8359
• DOI: 10.1007/s00540-021-02909-9

Purpose Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, but its effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury remain uncertain. The present study explored the effects of DEX on LPS-induced lung injury and studied the possible molecular mechanisms by testing the effects of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 and BEZ235. Methods Seventy C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the control, LPS, LPS + DEX, LPS + LY294002, LPS + BEZ235, LPS + DEX + LY294002, and LPS + DEX + BEZ235groups. Lung samples were collected 48 h after LPS treatment. Results DEX significantly inhibited LPS-induced increases in the lung weight/body weight ratio and lung wet/dry weight ratio, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and decreased the production of proinflammatory factors, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)in the lungs. DEX also markedly attenuated the increases in malondialdehyde 5 (MDA 5) and inositol-dependent enzyme a (IRE-a), attenuated the decrease in superoxide dismutase 1(SOD-1), reversed the low expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and the high expressions of Bax and Caspase-3. DEX also decreased the expression of phosphorylated PI3K and phosphorylated Akt and increased the expression of phosphorylated forkhead box-O transcription factor 1 (FoxO1). More interestingly, LY294002 or BEZ235 pretreatment significantly abolished the inhibitory effects of DEX on LPS-induced lung inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Conclusions These data suggest that DEX ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury partly through the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway.