The protective effect of penicillamine against Bleomycine induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats

Pulmonary fibrosis is commonly progressive and essentially untreatable disease, with a fatal outcome. A
good knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis of this chronic disease may pave the way, to
achieve the better resolutions of treating human lung fibrosis. In this study, we evaluated the involving
processes of fibrosis and their inhibition or prevention, in the three levels, namely, at [I] cellular level
[inflammatory leukocytes, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts and pulmonary tissue cells], [II] tissue index factors
[collagen, hydroxyproline], [III] pathophysiological or exaggerated physiological processes [inflammation,
fibrosis]. The pharmacological agent which are selected for evaluation in this study is penicillamine.
Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis is a widely used animal model for lung injury and fibrosis. After single
dose instillation of intratracheal bleomycin, the fibrotic responses were studied by biochemical measurement of
collagen deposition and analysis of pathological lung changes in different treatment groups. The results of this
study showed that administrated agents in different doses, had satisfactorily healing effects on fibrosis process,
ranging from good to moderate, through significant decreasing in lung collagen content [P < 0.05].