Pulmonary fibrosis is a common delayed side effect of
radiation therapy, and it has a poor prognosis. Tgfb1 is a potent
chemoattractant for fibroblasts and stimulates the production of
collagen, the
protein that contains
hydroxyproline. Since
collagen is by far the most abundant
protein in the lung, comprising 60-70% of the tissue mass, analysis of the
hydroxyproline content in lung tissues provides a reliable quantitative index for
pulmonary fibrosis. Thus
hydroxyproline and Tgfb1 may be involved in the development of
fibrosis. In this study, we investigated radiation-induced
pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model. C57BL/6 mice were assigned into four groups: no treatment, treated with Angelica sinensis treated only, X-irradiated only (a single fraction of 12 Gy to the thorax), and Angelica sinensis treatment plus radiation. We assayed expression of
hydroxyproline and the
mRNA and
protein of Tgfb1 in the four groups. We found that Angelica sinensis down-regulated the production of Tgfb1 and
hydroxyproline in mice with radiation-induced
pulmonary fibrosis. This study has demonstrated for the first time that Angelica sinensis inhibits the progress of radiation-induced
pulmonary fibrosis, possibly by down-regulating the expression of the proinflammatory
cytokine Tgfb1. These data suggest that Angelica sinensis may be useful in preventing and/or treating radiation-induced
pulmonary fibrosis in the clinic.