Since the identification of surfactant deficiency as the putative cause of the infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) by Avery and Mead in 1959, our understanding of the role of pulmonary surfactant in respiratory physiology and the pathophysiology of acute lung injury (ALI) has advanced substantially. Surfactant replacement has become routine for the prevention and treatment of infant RDS...

Background: Bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis has been accepted as an animal model for fibrosis in rats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of saffron aqueous extract on this disorder paving the way for more investigation in treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in human.  Methods: Male Wistar rats (250–300 gr) were instilled a single dose of bleomycin (5 mg/kg) via in...

Lindera strychifolia, a scandent shrub Lauraceous medicinal plant, has been used in Chinese traditional medicine as a palliative and an anti-spasmodic. It also shows cytotoxic effects against several tumor cell lines and inhibits marcromolecule biosynthesis. This study investigated the anti-tumor effects of L. strychifolia extract against lung cancer cells using in vitro and in vivo models. Two...

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as versatile ultra-sensitive nanoprobes for cellular and molecular imaging of cancer. In this study, we report a one-step procedure for the surface functionalization of SPIO nanoparticles with a lung cancer-targeting peptide. The hydrophobic surfactants on the as-synthesized SPIO are displaced ...

BACKGROUND M. Suaveolens Ledeb has long been used in China to treat inflammatory infectious diseases. Melilotus is extracted from Melilotus Suaveolens Ledeb and its therapeutic potential is associated with its anti-inflammatory activity. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its effects are unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of melilotus extract in a rat c...

Introduction: Although aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3-NPs) are the most widely used nanomaterials, limited studies have been reported on their toxicology. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the potential toxicity of aluminum oxide (alumina) nanoparticles and the protective role of aqueous extract of wormwood plant on nanomaterial-induced disorders in the lung of rats. Mater...

Forty colostrum-deprived, cross-bred beef calves, including males and females 3 to 8 months of age, were procured and transported to the test facility 6 days before initiation of the study. On Day -2, each calf received 60 mL of challenge material by endobronchial infusion. Calves were randomly assigned to either Group 1 (saline at 2.0 mL/50 kg body weight by subcutaneous injection) or Group 2 ...

• The surface tension of extracts from normal lungs is extremely low owing to the presence of a specific surfactant. Experiments of Finley et al. showing an abnormally high surface tension of lung extracts obtained 12 to 16 hours after ligation of the pulmonary artery (PA) were confirmed by Long and associates. These studies suggested that the surfactant is decreased or absent after PA ligation.

Techniques for isolation and culture of fetal Type II alveolar epithelial cells, as well as the morphologic and biochemical characteristics of these histotypic cultures, are described. Type II alveolar epithelial cells can be isolated from fetal rat lungs and grown in an organotypic culture system as described in this review. The fetal Type II cells resemble differentiated rat Type II cells in ...