Effects of recombinant human erythropoietin on the expression of TGF-β1 in the new bronchopulmonary dys-plasia rat model type

ZHAO Ri-hong; BAI Ji-hong; ZHANG Hua; LIU Man-jun

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of recombinant human erythropoietin ( rhEPO) on the pathologi-cal changes of lung tissue and the expression of TGF -β1 in the new bronchopulmonary dysplasia ( BPD ) rat model . Methods LPS or PBS was injected to pregnant SD rats on 15th day of gestation.The premature rats by cesarean delivery on the 21th day of gestation were divided into 5 groups:PBS+air group, PBS+hyperoxia group, LPS+hyperoxia group, PBS+hyperoxia+rhEPO group, and LPS+hyperoxia+rhEPO group.In rhEPO intervention groups , rhEPO (1 200 IU/kg) was administrated subcutaneously , once every other day for 7 times.The radial alveolar count (RAC) and pathologi-cal changes of lung were observed , and the expression of TGF -β1 in the bronchoalveolar labage ( BALF) and lung tissue were determined by ELISA on the 1st, 7th and 14th day after hyperoxia exposure.Results Compared with the PBS +air group, hyperoxia exposure significantly increased the lung injuries , reduced RAC, and up-regulated the expression of TGF-β1 in the BALF and lung tissues ( P<0.01 ) .These changes were more notable in the LPS +hyperoxia group (P<0.05,P<0.01).There were significant differences in the above indexes between the 14th day and the 1st or 7th day after hyperoxia exposure (P<0.05).The above indexes were significantly improved after rhEPO intervention (P<0.05, P<0.01) .The correlation analysis showed that the expression of TGF -β1 in the BALF was positively correlated with that in the lung tissue and negatively correlated with RAC (P<0.01, P<0.05).Conclusion The rhEPO could improve the lung injuries and produce certain intervention and treatment effects by regulating the TGF -β1 relative pathway in BPD model .