Protective Effect of Fluorofenidone Against Acute Lung Injury Through Suppressing the MAPK/NF-κB Pathway

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe disease that presents serious damage and excessive inflammation in lungs with high mortality without effective pharmacological therapy. Fluorofenidone (AKFPD) is a novel pyridone agent that has anti-fibrosis, anti-inflammation, and other pharmacological activities, while the effect of fluorofenidone on ALI is unclarified. Here, we elucidated the protective effects and underlying mechanism of fluorofenidone on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI. In this study, fluorofenidone alleviated lung tissue structure injury and reduced mortality, decreased the pulmonary inflammatory cell accumulation and level of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and attenuated pulmonary apoptosis in LPS-induced ALI mice. Moreover, fluorofenidone could block LPS-activated phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and P38 and further inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB and P65. These results suggested that fluorofenidone can significantly contrast LPS-induced ALI through suppressing the activation of the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway, which indicates that fluorofenidone could be considered as a novel therapeutic candidate for ALI.