Effect of Curcumin on Acute Lung Injury of Mice with GSH-PX and iNOS Activity in Lung Tissues

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of curcumin on GSH-PX, iNOS activity in lung tissues in acute lung injury (ALI) mice induced by bleomycin (BLM). METHODS BLM was injected intravenously into mice to establish the ALI model. The histological changes were observed with microscope. The changes of GSH-PX and iNOS were measured to reveal the acute lung injury. RESULTS Curcumin was able to increase the activity of GSH-PX，reduce the activity of iNOS. Compared with the sham group, iNOS in model group were significantly higher (P<0.01) at the 3rd and 7th day. In high-dose and medium-dose group of curcumin, iNOS decreased significantly (P<0.01) compared with model group. GSH-PX decreased significantly (P<0.01) in model group at 3rd and 7th day. In high-dose and medium-dose group, GSH-PX activity increased significantly (P<0.01) compared with model group. The lung pathological manifestations also displayed obvious pathological improvement. CONCLUSION Curcumin has protective effect at the early phase of ALI. The mechanism may be the increase of lung tissue GSH-PX activity, inhibited activity of iNOS as well as the balance between reconstruction oxidative and anti-oxidant.