α2A-AR antagonism by BRL-44408 maleate attenuates acute lung injury in rats with downregulation of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and p65 pathway

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), characterized by acute hypoxic respiratory dysfunction or failure, is a manifestation of multiple organ failure in the lung, and the most common risk factor is sepsis. We previously showed that blocking alpha(2)-adrenoceptor (alpha(2)-AR) could attenuate lung injury induced by endotoxin in rats. alpha(2A)-adrenoceptor (alpha(2A)-AR), a subtype of alpha(2)-AR plays a key role in inflammatory diseases, but the mechanism remains unknown. Here, we explored the effect of BRL-44408 maleate (BRL), a specific alpha(2A)-AR antagonist, on cecal ligation puncture (CLP)-induced ARDS in rats and the underlying mechanism. Preadministration of BRL-44408 maleate significantly alleviated CLP-induced histological injury, macrophage infiltration, inflammatory response, and wet/dry ratio in lung tissue. However, there was no statistical difference in survival rate between the CLP and CLP+BRL groups. Extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2), p38MAPK, and p65 were activated in the CLP group, and BRL-44408 maleate inhibited the activation of these signal molecules, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and protein kinase A (PKA) showed no changes in activation between these two groups. BRL-44408 maleate decreased lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of cytokines in NR8383 rat alveolar macrophages and reduced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and p65. JNK and PKA were not influenced by LPS. Together, these findings suggest that antagonism of alpha(2A)-AR improves CLP-induced acute lung injury and involves the downregulation of ERK1/2, p38MAPK, and p65 pathway independent of the activation of JNK and PKA.