Chest
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Comparative Study
Effects of lecithinized superoxide dismutase and/or pirfenidone against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) involves lung injury induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide anion, and fibrosis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyses the dismutation of superoxide anion to hydrogen peroxide. We recently reported that inhalation of lecithinized SOD (PC-SOD) ameliorated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. We here studied effects of PC-SOD on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and lung dysfunction and compared the results to those obtained with pirfenidone, a newly developed drug for IPF. ⋯ These results suggest that the superior activity of PC-SOD to pirfenidone against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and lung dysfunction is due to its unique antioxidant activity. We propose that treatment of IPF with a combination of PC-SOD and pirfenidone could be therapeutically beneficial.