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Tryptophan decreases the intensity of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in a rat model

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Abstract

Sepsis is a severe clinical condition that is a result of the cellular and biochemical response to infection. The present study evaluated the therapeutic potential of tryptophan against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats. Rats were grouped into sham, control (ALI), and ALI + 1, 25, and 50 mg/kg body weight l-tryptophan. Supplementation with 1, 25, and 50 mg/kg l-tryptophan reduced the total protein content by 4.9%, 33.4%, and 64.5%; the levels of neutrophils (12.5%, 31.8%, and 65.1%), lymphocytes (15.1%, 41.7%, and 63.3%), total cells (12.6%, 42.4%, and 65.7%); lipid peroxidation (9.4%, 28.4%, and 68.7%); myeloperoxidase levels (12.1%, 33.4%, and 68.2%); migration inhibitory factor (12.7%, 39.5%, and 68.2%), interleukin (IL)-8 (5.5%, 46.8%, and 78.5%), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (10.8%, 39.8%, and 72.2%), respectively. Supplementation with 1, 25, and 50 mg/kg l-tryptophan reduced mRNA expression of TNF-α (4.5%, 21.8%, and 41.8%), IL-1β (5.2%, 17.9%, and 46.2%); and the protein expression of TNF-α (2.8%, 15.2%, and 35.7%) and IL-1β (5.2%, 15.6%, and 28.6%), respectively. It also reduced glutathione (to near normal levels), neutrophilic infiltration and edema, and the wet/dry ratio of lung tissue. It significantly increased catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase levels, as well as the partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) by 21.9%, 52.8%, and 87.4%, respectively. Altogether, our results suggest that supplementation with l-tryptophan has a strong protective effect against LPS-induced ALI.

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The corresponding author will provide all the experimental data on valid request.

Abbreviations

ALI:

Acute lung injury

MPO:

Myeloperoxidase

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor alpha

MIF:

Migration inhibitory factor

IL-8:

Interleukin-8

PaO2:

Partial pressure of oxygen

ARDS:

Acute respiratory distress syndrome

BALF:

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Authors

Contributions

SL, FS, and WZ conducted experiments and collected data. XU, XZ, and YY carried out data interpretation, review of literature, and manuscript drafting.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yongming Yao.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

All animal experiments were approved by the ethical committee of the Fourth Medical Centre of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Kidney Disease, The Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China, 100048.

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Handling editor: J. Broos.

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Liu, S., She, F., Zhang, W. et al. Tryptophan decreases the intensity of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in a rat model. Amino Acids 52, 1139–1147 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02878-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02878-5

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