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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Non-Invasive Endotracheal Administration of Lipopolysaccharide to Induce Acute Lung Injury in Rodents
Published on: December 5, 2025
Effect of Toll-like receptor 4 inhibitor on LPS-induced lung injury
Hiroyuki Seki1, Sadatomo Tasaka, Koichi Fukunaga
1Department of Anesthesiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Objective And Design:
Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays important roles in the recognition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the activation of inflammatory cascade. In this study, we evaluated the effect of TAK-242, a selective TLR4 signal transduction inhibitor, on acute lung injury (ALI).
Materials And Methods:
C57BL/6J mice were intravenously treated with TAK-242 15 min before the intratracheal administration of LPS or Pam3CSK4, a synthetic lipopeptide. Six hours after the challenge, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was obtained for a differential cell count and the measurement of cytokine and myeloperoxidase levels. Lung permeability and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) DNA binding activity were also evaluated.
Results:
TAK-242 effectively attenuated the neutrophil accumulation and activation in the lungs, the increase in lung permeability, production of inflammatory mediators, and NF-kappaB DNA-binding activity induced by the LPS challenge. In contrast, TAK-242 did not suppress inflammatory changes induced by Pam3CSK4.
Conclusion:
TAK-242 may be a promising therapeutic agent for ALI, especially injuries associated with pneumonia caused by Gram-negative bacteria.

