Beta-caryophyllene reduces lung inflammation secondary to chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes millions of deaths and is a known risk factor for the development of other diseases. CKD has been associated with lung injury characterized by neutrophil infiltration and edema. Despite evidence that the lungs are distant organs affected in CKD, there is no treatment to impair lung injury. Cannabinoid receptors type 2 (CB₂) activation has been shown to reduce renal dysfunction and organ damage in sepsis.

Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of β-caryophyllene (βC), a CB₂ agonist, on CKD-induced pulmonary alterations.

Male Swiss mice were subjected to 5/6th partial nephrectomy (PNx) model and randomly assigned to three experimental groups: sham, PNx + vehicle and PNx+βC (10 mg/kg/day). Treatment was administered from days 7 to 14 post-surgery. On day 15, bronchoalveolar lavage, blood, and organs were obtained.

PNx animals exhibited increased pulmonary leukocyte infiltration, MPO activity, and protein content. Histological analysis of lung tissue showed signs of injury and excessive superoxide production. Increased expression of ICAM-1 was also detected by Western blotting in the lungs of PNx animals. βC treatment attenuated inflammatory cell infiltration and protein extravasation, and reduced ICAM-1 expression in lungs of CKD mice. βC improved renal function parameters, which may have contributed, at least in part, to the reduction in lung inflammation. CB₂ receptors expression did not differ among the groups.

In conclusion, βC attenuated PNx-induced pulmonary changes, supporting its potential as an adjuvant therapy for lung injury in CKD.