Effects of ulinastatin administered at different time points on the pathological morphologies of the lung tissues of rats with hyperthermia

Hyperthermia not only directly induces cell injury of body tissues, but also causes the body to release large amounts of inflammatory mediators and cells with extensive biological activities to induce a systemic inflammatory response and immune dysfunction. Thus, hyperthermia causes systemic inflammatory response syndrome, aggravating injuries to various organs. This study aimed to observe the effects of ulinastatin (UTI) administered at different time points on the cellular morphologies of the lung tissues of rats with systemic hyperthermia. A total of 40 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: The normal control group (C group), the hyperthermia group without medication (H group), the hyperthermia and UTI pre-treatment group (HU group), the group treated with UTI at 1 h after hyperthermia (HU1 group), and the group treated with UTI at 2 h after hyperthermia (HU2 group). The systemic hyperthermia rat model was established in a heating chamber with a biological oxygen supply. For the HU, HU1 and HU2 groups, UTI (5×104 U/kg) was administered at different time points. For the C and H groups, an equivalent volume of normal saline was administered. During heating, the respiratory frequency and rectal temperature were measured and recorded once every 30 min. After 2.5 h of heating, the wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio of the lung tissues of the rats was measured. Additionally, the cellular morphologies of the lung tissues were observed under light and electron microscopes. The respiratory frequencies and lung tissue W/D ratios of the rats in the various hyperthermia groups were significantly higher than those of the rats in the C group (all P<0.05). The respiratory frequencies and lung tissue W/D values of the HU and HU1 groups were significantly lower than those of the H group (all P<0.05). Under the light microscope, the bronchial surrounding tissues of the HU and HU1 groups were loose, and the majority of the pulmonary alveolar structures were normal; the H and HU2 groups presented a number of changes, including pulmonary interstitial hyperemia, alveolar epithelial swelling and emphysema. Under the electron microscope, it was observed in the type II epithelial cells of the pulmonary alveoli of the H group that the mitochondria were swollen, the cell ridges were shortened, the microvilli were thin and increased, and the alveolar wall was thickened. Also, an increased number of infiltrating neutrophils were visible. In addition, the type II epithelial cells of the HU2 group also presented these changes to different extents and the changes in the HU and HU1 groups were the mildest. These results indicate that the early application of UTI relieves edema and the extent of cell injury of the lung tissue in rats with systemic hyperthermia.