Affiliations: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka City
University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan | Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Osaka
City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan | Department of Thoracic Surgery, Osaka City University
Hospital, Osaka, Japan | Department of Food & Health Science, Graduate
School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University,
Okayama, Japan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Shinjiro Mizuguchi, MD, Department
of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine,
1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. Tel.: +81 6 6645 3841; Fax:
+81 6 6646 6057; E-mail: m1381731@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Abstract: This study examined effects of S-allyl cysteine (SAC) on carbon
tetrachloride (CCl_{4})-induced interstitial pulmonary
fibrosis in Wistar rats. CCl_{4} (0.5 ml/kg) was intraperitoneally
injected into rats twice a week for 8 weeks, and SAC (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg),
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC, 200 or 600 mg/kg), or L-cysteine (CYS, 600 mg/kg) were
orally administrated to rats everyday for 8 weeks. SAC significantly reduced the increases of transforming growth
factor beta, lipid peroxides, AST, and ALT in plasma, induced by
CCl_{4}. Although CCl_{4} is mainly
metabolized by hepatic cytochrome P450, CCl_{4} induced
systemic inflammation and some organ fibrosis. SAC dose-dependently and
significantly attenuated CCl_{4}-induced systemic
inflammation and fibrosis of lung. SAC also inhibited the decrease of thiol
levels, the increase of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, the
infiltration of leukocytes, and the generation of reactive oxygen species in
lungs. Although NAC and CYS attenuated CCl_{4}-induced
pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis, the order of preventive potency was SAC
> NAC > CYS according to their applied
doses. These results indicate that SAC is more effective than other
cysteine compounds in reducing CCl_{4}-induced lung injury,
and might be useful in prevention of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.
Keywords: Pulmonary fibrosis, S-allyl cysteine, carbon tetrachloride, chronic inflammation, rat
Journal: BioFactors, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 81-92, 2006
