Experimental study of the protective effects of Zhongfei decoction on radiation-induced pneumonia in rats

Objective: To investigate the protective effect and its possible mechanism of ZhongFei Decoction on radiation-induced pneumonia in rats. Methods: Single irradiation was given at two thorax of female Wistar rats with 30 Gy of 6 MV X irradiation. Sixty rats were randomly divided into the control group, radiation group, radiation plus DXM and ZhongFei Decoction plus radiation group. On days 14 and 28 after treatment, 5 rats of each group were sacrificed, and their lungs were harvested for measurement of the lung index, the difference of the histopathology change, the concentration of hydroxyproline (hyp), and expression of transforming growth factor-β1 in lungs were analyzed by HE stain, biochemical method and immunohistochemical method, respectively. Results: The pathological study showed marked lung injury in the radiation group while only slight hyperemia hemorrhage, exudation and thickness of alveolar walls in the lungs of ZhongFei Decoction plus radiation group, the concentration of hydroxyproline and expression of TGF-β1 in the radiation lungs increased compared with that in the control group and reduced in the ZhongFei Decoction plus radiation group compared with that in the radiation group. Conclusions: ZhongFei Decoction could have protective effects on the radiation-induced pneumonia and the mechanism of its may be related with down-regulating the expression of TGF-β1 in the irritated lung tissue. (authors)