Schisandrin B attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice through the wingless/integrase-1 signaling pathway

Abstract

Purpose/Aim: Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is characterized by the progressive and ultimately fatal accumulation of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix in the lung that distorts its architecture and compromises its function.

Objective: The present study investigated the potential protective effects of schisandrin B (Sch B) on the Wingless/Integrase-1 (Wnt) signaling pathway in attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress in ICR mice.

Methods: Sixty healthy ICR mice were randomly divided into the following groups: control group, bleomycin (BLM) group, Sch B low dose (Sch B-L) group, Sch B medium dose (Sch B-M) group, Sch B high dose (Sch B-H) group, and dexamethasone (DXM) group. The expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 was examined by ELISA. In addition, the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), hydroxyproline (HYP), and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were determined. The protein and mRNA levels of matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7) and β-catenin in mice were analyzed by western blot and quantitative real -quantitative time PCR (qRT-PCR), respectively.

Results: Lung tissues from the BLM group exhibited significantly more inflammatory changes and a significantly greater number of collagen fibers than lung tissues from the control group. In addition, the lung tissues from these BLM-treated mice exhibited slightly increased MMP7 and β-catenin protein expression. Lung tissues from the Sch B-H group exhibited fewer inflammatory changes and fewer collagen fibers than lung tissues from the BLM group. Furthermore, the lung tissues from the Sch B-H mice exhibited decreased HYP and TGF-β1 levels, but increased SOD and T-AOC levels.

Conclusions: The present study provided evidence that Sch B may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of PF.

Keywords:

• Pulmonary fibrosis
• schisandrin B
• bleomycin
• Wingless/Integrase-1 signaling pathway

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the Project of innovation plan for graduate students of Beihua University (201841), the Project of innovation plan for undergraduate students of Beihua University (201811923144), the Medical and Health Industry Development Special Foundation of Jilin Province Scientific Technology Development Project (20170311058YY), Jilin Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion Plan (20170309006YY), Jilin Province Scientific Technology Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2019129), the Project of innovation plan for graduate students of Beihua University (2019021), and the Project of innovation plan for graduate students of Beihua University (2019027).