摘要

Background/Aims: We aimed to examine aquaporins 1 and 51(AQP1 and 5) expression in lung tissues of rats with early acute lung injury caused by severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and roles of AQP1 and 5 in pulmonary edema development. Methodology: Eighty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into the SAP group and the sham operation group. SAP model was prepared through retrograde injection of 5% taurocholic acid. We examined SAP rats for any early lung tissue damage and for AQP1. and 5 expression in lung tissues at different time points (3, 6, 12, and 24 hours) during disease development. Results: Immunofluorescence staining revealed that AQP1 and 5 expression in the SAP lung tissues did no significantly change 3 hours post-experiment, but gradually decreased from 6 hours compared with controls. Real-time RTPCR analysis showed that AQP1 mRNA levels of the SAP rats were significantly higher than those of controls 3 hours post-experiment (p=0.001). AQP1 and 5 mRNA levels significantly decreased 6 hours post-experiment (p<0.001). Western blotting analysis showed that AQP1 and 5 expression significantly decreased from 6 hours (p<0.001). Conclusions: Decreased lung AQP1 and 5 expression may be related to pulmonary edema development and increased severity of lung injury and pulmonary edema, which provides an additional mechanism for pancreatitis-associated lung injury.