Salvianolic acid B attenuates lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat possibly by inhibiting the P2X7/NLRP3 signaling pathway

Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (LIRI) is a morbid complication that frequently occurs following lung transplantation, pulmonary artery resection, pulmonary embolism thrombolysis, cardiac surgery, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. LIRI has a high incidence and risk of death; however, current therapies have limited efficacy for treating LIRI. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) is a natural active product extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge, and protects cardiac myocytes as well as neurons from ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, protective effects of Sal B against LIRI have not yet been reported. In this work, we demonstrated that Sal B attenuated lung injury induced by LIRI in rat in a dose-dependent manner as well as reduced the lung W/D ratio and MPO expression in lung tissues. In addition, Sal B inhibited expression of P2X7, NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 in lung tissue and decreased the concentration of IL-1 beta and IL-18 in serum. We propose that Sal B improves LIRI in rats by inhibiting the P2X7/NLRP3 signaling pathway, suggesting that Sal B is an emerging and efficient natural product candidate for the treatment of LIRI.