Therapeutic effects of melatonin on the lungs of rats exposed to passive smoking

作者：Juanjuan Xiong, Lihua Xie, Yong Huang, JiaHui Zhu, ZhiYan Hong, HaoYun Qian, Jingjing Liu · 发表于：Respiratory Research · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s12931-024-03042-3 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Circadian rhythm and melatonin、Air Quality and Health Impacts、Genomics, phytochemicals, and oxidative stress

BACKGROUND: Passive smoke has a significant impact on lung function and constitutes a critical public health issue, as smoking generates free radicals that damage the lungs and other tissues. Currently, limited research exists on whether the antioxidant melatonin can mitigate lung damage caused by smoking. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms through which melatonin alleviates acute lung disease induced by passive smoking. METHODS: Rats were divided into five groups (n = 6): a control group and three groups exposed to low, medium, and high concentrations of smoke, and a melatonin treatment group. RESULTS: Data indicated that in the high concentration passive smoking group, the alveolar structure of the lung tissue was destroyed, and the total antioxidant capacity in lung tissue diminished as the concentration of smoke increased. The expressions of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β exhibited similar results. The anti-apoptotic factors Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL mRNA level significantly decreased in the high concentration smoking group, while no significant changes were observed in the medium and low concentration groups. Conversely, the high concentration passive smoking increased the pro-apoptotic factors Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA levels. Additionally, endogenous melatonin levels in lung tissue gradually decreased following exposure to smoke, whereas the exogenous melatonin alleviated the changes in inflammatory factors and apoptosis-related factors in lung tissue. Furthermore, at high smok...