Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of emodin on aquaporin 5(AQP5) expression in rats with sepsis-induced acute lung injury.METHODS: We divided 60 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 200-230 g, into four groups: control, sham surgery, model and emodin groups(n = 15 for each). We created a sepsis model with cecal ligation and puncture; the sham surgery group had their cecums replaced after exposure outside the abdominal cavity. Each group was further divided into three subgroups(n = 5 for each)and expressions of AQP5 m RNA and proteins in lung tissue were measured by real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction and western blot at 6, 12 and 24 h after surgery.RESULTS: AQP5 expression did not change over time in the control group and sham surgery group,but decreased over time in the model group. The lowest expression was found in 12-h subgroup,which significantly differed from the 6-h subgroup(P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, AQP5 expression in the emodin group was significantly higher in all the subgroups(all P

Key words: Emodin, Sepsis, Acute lung injury, Aquaporin 5