Histomorphologic Change of Radiation Pneumonitis in Rat Lungs : Captopril Reduces Rat Lung Injury Induced by Irradiation

Kim, Jin Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess the histomorphologic changes in the rat lung injury induced by radiation, to determine whether captopril reduces the rat lung injury and to evaluate change in TNF-alpha and TGF-beta in rat lung damage by radiation and captopril.
METHODS
AND MATERIAL: Right lungs in male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided irradiation alone (10, 20, 30 Gy) or radiation (same dose with radiation alone group) with captopril (500 mg/L). Radiation alone group were sacrificed at twelve hours and eleven weeks after radiation and radiation with captopril group (captopril group) were sacrificed at eleven weeks after radiation with captopril. We examined the light microscope and electron microscopic features in the groups.
RESULTS
In radiation alone group, there were patch parenchymal collapse and consolidation at twelve hours after radiation. The increase of radiation dose shows more prominent the severity and broader the affected areas. Eleven weeks after radiation, the severity and areas of fibrosis had increased in proportion to radiation dose given in the radiation alone group. There was notable decrease of lung fibrosis in captopril group than in radiation alone group. The number of mast cells rapidly increased with increase of radiation dose in radiation alone group and the degree of increase of mast cell number and severity of collagen accumulation more decreased in captopril group than in radiation alone group. In radiation alone group, expression of TNF-alpha and TGF-beta increased according to increase of radiation dose at twelve hours after radiation in both group. At eleven weeks after radiation, expression of TGF-beta increased according to increase of radiation dose in radiation group but somewhat decreased in captopril group. In the captopril group the collagen deposition increased but less dense than those of radiation alone group. The severity of perivascular thickening, capillary change, the number and degranulation of mast cells more decreased in the captopril group than in the radiation alone group.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that the effect of captopril in the rat lungs after radiation was considered to be due to its effect on inhibition of mast cells and reduction of collagen deposition, and captopril may be protect in lung damage after radiation. We observed expression of TNF-alpha and TGF-beta increased at the early phase after radiation and expression of TGF-beta increased in proportion to increase of radiation dose at the chronic phase after radiation. This results will contribute to future investigation in reduction mechanism of captopril in lung damage after radiation.