Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- Arian Amirkhosravi 1
- Maryamossadat Mirtajaddini Goki 2
- Payam Torkzadeh 3
- Maryam Iranpour 4
- Mehrnaz Mehrabani 2
- Ali Mandegary 5
- Shiva Amiri 2, 6
1 Herbal and Traditional Medicines Research Center, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
2 Physiology Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
3 Student Research Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
4 Department of Pathology, Pathology and Stem Cell research Center, Afzalipour Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
5 Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
6 Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Abstract
Background: Lung fibrosis is a chronic disease that affects the lung interstitium and is the major adverse effect of bleomycin. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory cells contribute to the fibrotic process. Melatonin has been reported to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, the current research aimed to evaluate the impact of melatonin on bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis.
Methods: In total, 24 Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control group, bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF) group (one dose, 5 mg/kg) intratracheally (i.t.), or two groups receiving bleomycin on day 0 (one dose, 5 mg/kg, i.t.) followed by melatonin (5 and 20 mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally (i.p.) starting from day 2. After the treatment period, the levels of hydroxyproline, transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assessed in the lung tissues.
Results: Administration of bleomycin caused pulmonary fibrosis in rats, as evidenced by elevated levels of the lipid peroxidation (LPO) marker, TGF-β1, and hydroxyproline, and reduced GSH and SOD in the bleomycin group. All these changes were significantly ameliorated by melatonin 20 mg/kg/day.
Conclusion: Melatonin alleviates bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
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