Protective effect of oxytocin through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant role in a model of sepsis-induced acute lung injury: Demonstrated by CT and histological findings

Purpose: Although several studies demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effect of oxytocin in different pathophysiological processes, there are limited data describing the impact of oxytocin on acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to elucidate the protective effect of oxytocin in ARDS with histopathological evaluation and radiological imaging in addition to biochemical markers. Materials and Methods: Fecal intraperitoneal injection procedure (FIP) was performed on 24 of 32 rats included in the study for creating a sepsis model. Rats were randomly assigned into four groups: control group (no procedure was applied, n = 8), untreated septic group [was operated (FIP) and received no treatment, n = 8], placebo group (FIP, treated with 10 ml/kg of saline at once, n = 8), and treated group (FIP, treated with 0.1 mg/kg of oxytocin at once, n = 8). Chest CT was performed for all rats 20 hours after the procedure and density of the lungs were measured manually by using HU. All animals were sacrificed for histopathological examination of lung damage and blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis. Results: Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), lactic acid (LA), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1-beta (IL 1-beta) levels were significantly increased in the placebo (FIP + saline) and the untreated (FIP) groups, and plasma levels of all biomarkers were reversed by oxytocin. Further, the density of the lung parenchyma (Hounsfield unit) on CT images and the histopathological lung damage score values were closer to the control group in the oxytocin-treated group compared to the placebo group. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that oxytocin could exert anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and protective effects in FIP-induced ARDS.