Advances in the mechanism of paraquat-induced pulmonary injury

OBJECTIVE: To identify the mechanisms involved in paraquat (PQ)-induced pulmonary injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mechanism of PQ-induced pulmonary injury was elucidated through both literature review and experimentation. RESULTS: As an effective herbicide, PQ has been widely used in farmland and pasture, it has a characteristic potent weeding effect. However, PQ is highly toxic to humans and there is no specific medical treatment available. Paraquat has been used frequently by suicidal people to end their life; its mortality is > 90% in oral ingestion cases. It has recently been recognized that PQ causes respiratory failure and even death through multiple organ failures, particularly through pulmonary fibrosis. However, the mechanisms of PQ-induced pulmonary injury had not been clarified. CONCLUSIONS: In this review, we systematically elucidated the mechanism of PQ-induced pulmonary injury, and concluded that PQ causes pulmonary injury through oxidative, alveolar, mitochondrial, lipid and metabolic enzyme damage, all of which can lead to death due to pulmonary fibrosis. With this in mind, we propose recommendations for the treatment of PQ-induced pulmonary injury and provide theoretical bases for subsequent treatment strategies.