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. 2020 Oct 13:2020:6374014.
doi: 10.1155/2020/6374014. eCollection 2020.

Imrecoxib Inhibits Paraquat-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis through the NF- κ B/Snail Signaling Pathway

Haihao Jin  1
Affiliations

Imrecoxib Inhibits Paraquat-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis through the NF- κ B/Snail Signaling Pathway

Haihao Jin. Comput Math Methods Med. .

Abstract

Objective: In recent years, pulmonary fibrosis caused by paraquat poisoning is still concerned. However, no effective drugs have been developed yet to treat paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The aim of our research is to investigate whether imrecoxib can inhibit paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis and its possible mechanism.

Methods: Extraction of primary pulmonary fibrosis cells (PPF cells) in vitro by the method of trypsin digestion. RT-qPCR and western blot were employed to measure the transcription level and protein expression of EMT related markers in paraquat-induced A549 cells. MTT, wound-healing, and Transwell experiments were used to verify the effect of imrecoxib on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PPF and HFL1 cells.

Results: Firstly, our results confirmed that paraquat can induce EMT and activate the NF-κB/snail signal pathway in lung epithelial cell A549. Furthermore, experimental results showed that imrecoxib could repress the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PPF and HFL1 cells. Finally, our study found that imrecoxib can inhibit EMT of paraquat-induced A549 cells by the NF-κB/snail signal pathway.

Conclusion: Imrecoxib can inhibit EMT of paraquat-induced A549 cells and alleviate paraquat-caused pulmonary fibrosis through the NF-κB/snail signal pathway. Therefore, imrecoxib is a drug worthy of study in the treatment of paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
mRNA and protein expression of EMT markers in paraquat-induced lung epithelial cell A549. (a). The mRNA level of E-cadherin in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat-induced group was measured by the RT-qPCR method. (b). The mRNA level of vimentin in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat-induced group was measured by the RT-qPCR method.(c). The protein expression of E-cadherin and vimentin in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat-induced group was measured by western blot. ∗∗∗P < 0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
mRNA and protein expression of NF-κB and snail in paraquat-induced lung epithelial cell A549. (a). The mRNA level of NF-κB in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat-induced group was measured by the RT-qPCR method. (b). The mRNA level of snail in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat induced group was measured by the RT-qPCR method. (c). The protein expression of NF-κB and snail in A549 cells of the control group and paraquat-induced group was measured by the western blot method. ∗∗P < 0.01.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of imrecoxib on the proliferation and migration and of PPF cells in vitro. (a) The effect of imrecoxib on the proliferation ability of PPF cells was measured by the MTT assay. (b). The effect of imrecoxib on the migration ability of PPF cells was measured by the scratch test. (c) The effect of imrecoxib on the invasion ability of PPF cells was measured by transwell. ∗∗P < 0.01; ∗∗∗P < 0.001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of imrecoxib on the proliferation and migration of HFL1 cells in vitro.(a) The effect of imrecoxib on the proliferation ability of HFL1 cells was measured by the MTT assay. (b) The effect of imrecoxib on the migration ability of HFL1 cells was measured by the scratch test.∗∗∗P < 0.001.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effect of imrecoxib on the mRNA expression of E-cadherin and vimentin in paraquat-induced A549 cells was assessed by RT-qPCR. #P < 0.05; ∗∗P < 0.01; ∗∗∗P < 0.001.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effect of imrecoxib on NF-κB and snail mRNA transcription and protein expression in paraquat-induced A549 cells. (a, b) The effect of imrecoxib on the mRNA level of NF-κB and snail in paraquat-induced A549 cells was determined by the RT-qPCR method. (c) The effect of imrecoxib on the protein expression of NF-κB and snail in paraquat-induced A549 cells was measured by the western blot method. #P < 0.05; ∗∗P < 0.01.
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