Effect of proline analogs on oxygen toxicity-induced pulmonary fibrosis in the rat

Proline analogs inhibit collagen biosynthesis and prevent accumulation of collagen in tissues. The antifibrotic effects of three proline analogs, cis-hydroxyproline, L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, and L-3,4-dehydroproline, were compared in a rat oxygen toxicity model. The specificity of these agents for collagen was examined by measuring their effects on noncollagen protein and elastin accumulation in the lung. Increased lung collagen was produced by exposing rats to 95% O2 for 60 hr followed by a 2-week recovery period. Animals were treated with the proline analogs for the 2-week period. Oxygen exposure in untreated animals increased lung collagen 26% above air-breathing controls, and this increase was prevented by all three analogs. Increased noncollagen protein was also prevented by these agents, suggesting they were not entirely specific for collagen. Elastin accumulation, however, was not inhibited by cis-hydroxyproline. It was concluded that proline analogs were antifibrotic, but affected the metabolism of noncollagen protein.