The Effect of Galantamine on Lipopolysaccharide-induced Acute Lung Injury During Neutropenia Recovery in Mice

Abstract

Background/aim: Acute lung injury (ALI) is associated with a high mortality rate and cancer patients who receive chemotherapy are at high risk of ALI during neutropenia recovery. Galantamine is a cholinesterase inhibitor used for Alzheimer's disease treatment. Previous studies have shown that galantamine reduced inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in rats. Mer protein was negatively associated with inflammatory response. The aim of the study was to investigate whether galantamine is effective in LPS-induced ALI during neutropenia recovery and its effect on Mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK) expression in mice.

Materials and methods: Intraperitoneal cyclophosphamide was given to mice to induce neutropenia. After 7 days, LPS was administered by intratracheal instillation. Intraperitoneal galantamine was given once before LPS administration and in another group, galantamine was given twice before LPS administration.

Results: Galantamine attenuated LPS-induced ALI in histopathological analysis. The neutrophil percentage was lower in the group where galantamine was injected once, compared to the LPS group (p=0.007). MerTK expression was also higher in the group where galantamine was injected once but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.101).

Conclusion: Galantamine attenuated inflammation in LPS-induced ALI during neutropenia recovery.

Keywords: Cholinesterase inhibitor; acute lung injury; mer tyrosine kinase; neutropenia recovery.