Protective effect of pravastatin on lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury during neutropenia recovery in mice.

Although neutropenia recovery is associated with deterioration of preexisting acute lung injury (ALI), there are few reports of the preventive strategies. Statins have been found to attenuate inflammatory responses in murine models of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. The aim of this study was to determine whether pravastatin could attenuate ALI during neutropenia recovery in mice. Cyclophosphamide was administered to mice to induce neutropenia. Mice were given intratracheal LPS 7 days after cyclophosphamide administration, after which pravastatin was administered by intraperitoneal injection. In order to study the effects of pravastatin, mice were killed on day 5. Pravastatin attenuated the pulmonary edema and histopathological changes of LPS-induced lung injury. The accumulation of neutrophils and the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MPO in BAL fluids were also effectively inhibited by pravastatin. The expression levels of Toll-like receptor 4, nuclear factor kappa B, tumor growth factor-β and matrix metalloproteinase-9 were significantly reduced by pravastatin. Taken together, pravastatin significantly attenuated LPS-induced ALI during neutropenia recovery. These results provide evidence for the potential of pravastatin in the treatment of ALI during neutropenia recovery.