Department of Histology and Embryology, Centre of Biostructure Research, Medical University of Warsaw, Chałubińskiego 5, PL 02-004 Warszawa, Poland.
Pharmacol Rep. 2010 Jan-Feb;62(1):131-8. doi: 10.1016/s1734-1140(10)70250-4.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC), owing to its antioxidant, mucolytic and anti-inflammatory properties, is used in the treatment of various pulmonary disorders. However, the direct effects of NAC on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from patients suffering from interstitial lung diseases have not yet been studied. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of NAC on interleukin-8 (IL-8) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) production as well as intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression by BAL cells from interstitial lung diseases. The study was performed on BAL cells from nine patients with interstitial lung disease: four patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and five patients with sarcoidosis. Cultured unstimulated BAL cells were treated with increasing doses of NAC (1-30 mM). Production of IL-8 and MMP-9 was evaluated by specific enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assays and ICAM-1 expression was studied by immunohistochemistry. NAC exerted a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on IL-8 and MMP-9 release and ICAM- expression by BAL macrophages and lymphocytes from patients with IPF and sarcoidosis. In conclusion, NAC inhibits production of factors playing a key role in the etiopathogenesis of interstitial lung diseases, thus suggesting its possible therapeutic potency in the treatment of these disorders.
N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）由于其抗氧化、黏液溶解和抗炎特性，被用于治疗各种肺部疾病。然而，NAC 对患有间质性肺疾病的患者支气管肺泡灌洗液（BAL）细胞的直接作用尚未得到研究。因此，本研究旨在评估 NAC 对间质性肺疾病患者 BAL 细胞中白细胞介素 8（IL-8）和基质金属蛋白酶 9（MMP-9）产生以及细胞间黏附分子 1（ICAM-1）表达的影响。该研究在 9 名间质性肺疾病患者的 BAL 细胞上进行：4 名特发性肺纤维化（IPF）患者和 5 名结节病患者。培养未刺激的 BAL 细胞用不同剂量的 NAC（1-30 mM）处理。通过特定的酶联免疫吸附测定评估 IL-8 和 MMP-9 的产生，并用免疫组织化学研究 ICAM-1 的表达。NAC 对 IPF 和结节病患者的 BAL 巨噬细胞和淋巴细胞中 IL-8 和 MMP-9 的释放以及 ICAM-表达具有剂量依赖性抑制作用。总之，NAC 抑制了在间质性肺疾病发病机制中起关键作用的因子的产生，这表明其在治疗这些疾病方面可能具有潜在的治疗作用。
