Polydatin relieves paraquat-induced human MRC-5 fibroblast injury through inhibiting the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome

BACKGROUND: Paraquat (PQ) is a herbicide that is highly toxic to the lungs and kidneys. When it enters the body, it will disrupt the balance of the microenvironment in the body, induce a large number of inflammatory factors and cause cell damage. Polydatin (PD), resveratrol glycoside, has multiple pharmacological effects. However, the protective effect of PD on human embryo lung fibroblast damage caused by PQ poisoning has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory effect of PD on human embryo lung fibroblast damage caused by PQ poisoning. METHOD: The optimal experimental concentration of PQ for human embryonic lung fibroblast MRC-5 was 100 µmol/L, and then the cells of 100 µmol/L PQ group were treated with different concentrations of PD for 24 h. MTT assay to detect MRC-5 cell viability and flow cytometry to detect apoptosis. The corresponding kit was used to detect the contents of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the levels of related inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Western blot detection of NLRP3 inflammatory body activation-related protein expression. RESULTS: Compared with the PQ group, cell activity, GSH-Px content, and SOD content in PD intervention group were significantly increased, while apoptosis, MDA content, inflammatory factor level, and activation-related proteins of the NLRP3 inflammasome were significantly reduced and were dose-dependent. CONCLUSIONS: PD can relieve PQ-induced human MRC-5 fibroblasts injury by reducing the inflammatory response, improving the antioxidant stress capacity, and inhibiting the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.