Effect of androgen depletion on expression of the alveolar ENaC-?琢 in male rats with oleic acid -induced acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome

Abstract:

Objective：To study the effect of androgen depletion on expression of alveolar epithelial sodium channel ａlpha-subunit（ENaC-?琢）in male rats with oleic acid （OA）-induced acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome（ALI/ARDS） by the way of castrating both gonads. Methods：Twenty adult Sprague-Dawley（SD） male rats were randomly divided into control group，OA model group，castrated model group and sham-castrated model group according to the random digits table with 5 rats in each group. The model was copied by the injection of OA（0.15 ml/kg） through tail vein，and the castrated model group and sham-castrated model group were castrated 2 weeks before exposure to OA. After 6 h exposure to OA，the chest was opened to retrieve lung issues，the wet/dry（W/D） ratio was measured and the expression of mRNA and protein of ENaC-?琢 was determined by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. Results：①The pathological change of lung tissue was distinctive and W/D ratio was significantly increased in all model groups com－pared with those in control group（OA model group vs. control group，P=0.000；sham-castrated model group vs. control group，P=0.000；castrated model group vs. control group，P=0.000）. The expression of mRNA and protein of ENaC-?琢 was significantly lower in model groups than those in normal group（ENaC-?琢 mRNA：OA model group vs. control group，P=0.000；sham-castrated model group vs. control group，P=0.000；castrated model group vs. control group，P=0.001；ENaC-?琢 protein：OA model group vs. control group，P=0.000；sham-castrated model group vs. control group，P=0.000；castrated model group vs.control group，P=0.045）. ②The pathological change of lung tissue was attenuated and W/D ratio was significantly decreased in castrated model group compared with those in OA model group（P=0.000）. The expression of mRNA and protein of ENaC-?琢 in castrated model group was significantly up-regulated compared with that in OA model group（ENaC-?琢 mRNA：castrated model group vs. OA model group，P=0.002；ENaC-?琢 protein：castrated model group vs. OA model group，P=0.030）. Conclusion：Androgen may restrain the expression of ENaC-?琢 in lung issues in male rats with ALI/ARDS.