Mechanism of dexmedetomidine on acute lung injury in sepsis through cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of dexmedetomidine on acute lung injury induced by sepsis through cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.METHODS: Sixty mice were randomly divided into five groups, Different agents were injected intraperitoneally, after 6 hours, the specific gravity of lung dry and wet was recorded, the inflammatory factors, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in serum and lung tissue were detected, the pathological structure of lung tissue was observed under HE staining microscope, and the level of acetylcholine transferase (ChAT) in lung tissue was determined.RESULTS: After each group was given different treatments, the lung dry weight of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) + low dexmedetomidine (Dex) group, the LPS+ high Dex group and the LPS+ dextromethorphan (DXM) group was significantly increased compared with the LPS group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The pathological structure of the lung tissue under HE staining electron microscope showed that the inflammatory cell infiltration was the most obvious in the LPS group, and the inflammatory cell infiltration in the LPS+high Dex group was lighter, similar to the LPS+DXM group, and closest to the normal lung tissue structure in the control group. The level of acetylcholine transferase (ChAT) in the lung tissue of the LPS+high Dex group was higher than that of the other four groups and compared with the control group and the LPS group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that dexmedetomidine has a protective effect on acute lung injury induced by sepsis through cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.