Abstract:Objective:To study the expression of AQP1,AQP3,AQP4 and AQP5 in the pulmonary tissues of mice with acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to clarify the relationship of ALI with the expression of AQP1,AQP3,AQP4 and AQP5. Methods: Forty healthy male C57BL/6 mice were evenly randomized into 5 groups: LPS 4 h group,LPS 6 h group,LPS 8 h group,LPS 10 h group and control group. ALI model was induced with LPS in all the LPS groups. Realtime PCR was used to observe the expression changes of AQP1,AQP3,AQP4 and AQP5 mRNA. Immunohistochemical method and Western blotting assay were used to determine the changes of AQP1,AQP3,AQP4 and AQP5 protein in the pulmonary tissues of all the animals. Meanwhile,measurement of lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio and pathological staining were performed in each group. Results: The W/D values of the LPS 4 h,6 h,8 h and 10 h groups (4.39±0.19,4.58±0.17,4.87±0.21 and 5.28±0.16,respectively) were significantly higher than that of the control group (3.99±0.25,all P<0.05). The expression of AQP1 and AQP5 protein in the lung of the LPS 4 h group decreased to (74.1±5.2)% and (70.3±7.1)% that of the control group; the expression of AQP1 and AQP5 protein in the lung of the LPS 8 h group decreased to (45.2±4.4)% and (38.6±8.9)% that of the control group,and the expression of AQP3 and AQP4 had no obvious changes. Conclusion: AQP1 and AQP5 may play important roles in the abnormal ALI fluid transportation and might be associated with the development of pulmonary edema. AQP3 and AQP4 may not participate in the development of pulmonary edema during ALI.