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Updated: May 12, 2026
A Model of Self-limited Acute Lung Injury by Unilateral Intra-bronchial Acid Instillation
Published on: August 30, 2019
Simvastatin attenuates neutrophil recruitment in one-lung ventilation model in rats
Camila Ferreira Leite1, Fábio André Marangoni, Enilton Aparecido Camargo
1Postgraduate Program in Sciences of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Purpose:
To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of simvastatin in rats undergoing one-lung ventilation (OLV) followed by lung re-expansion.
Methods:
Male Wistar rats (n=30) were submitted to 1-h OLV followed by 1-h lung re-expansion. Treated group received simvastatin (40 mg/kg for 21 days) previous to OLV protocol. Control group received no treatment or surgical/ventilation interventions. Measurements of pulmonary myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, pulmonary protein extravasation, and serum levels of cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP) were performed.
Results:
OLV significantly increased the MPO activity in the collapsed and continuously ventilated lungs (31% and 52% increase, respectively) compared with control (p<0.05). Treatment with simvastatin significantly reduced the MPO activity in the continuously ventilated lung but had no effect on lung edema after OLV. The serum IL-6 and CRP levels were markedly higher in OLV group, but simvastatin treatment failed to affect the production of these inflammatory markers. Serum levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-10 remained below the detection limit in all groups.
Conclusions:
In an experimental one-lung ventilation model pre-operative treatment with simvastatin reduces remote neutrophil infiltration in the continuously ventilated lung. Our findings suggest that simvastatin may be of therapeutic value in OLV-induced pulmonary inflammation deserving clinical investigations.
