PTX3 levels in murine pulmonary parenchymal tissues are correlated with radiation-induced injuries

Background: pentraxins (ptx) play key roles in innate immunity andinflammatory responses. an increase in ptx3 levels may be a marker of earlyradiation injury in the lung. thus, we aimed to determine the effect ofradiation on ptx3 expression in a lung injury mouse model. materials andmethods: twenty-four 6–8-week-old mice were divided into 4 groups, onecontrol (group 1) and three experimental groups (groups 2–4) irradiated with6 mv photons and 5 gy in a single fraction. groups 2, 3, and 4 were sedatedand euthanized 24, 72, and 168 h after radiation, respectively. the right lungmiddle lobe was then removed for histochemical examination andimmunostaining for ptx3 expression, which was evaluated semiquantitativelyusing h-score analysis. kolmogorov-smirnov and kruskalwallis one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. results:immunohistochemistry of lung tissue samples showed different ptx3expression levels across the four groups. group 1 showed weak staining(232.50 ± 9.501), while group 2 (301.50 ± 7.472) and group 3 (283.50 ± 7.090) showed strong immunoreactivity. group 4 showed moderate ptx3 immunoreactivity (271.50 ± 10.013). moreover, h-score values between control and early radiation groups were statistically significant (group 1 vs.group 2, p < 0.001; group 1 vs. group 3, p = 0.002). conclusion: ptx3 levelsmay be an early marker for long-term radiation effects. our study provides insights into the pathological processes of pulmonary inflammation and acute radiation injury, and may provide novel therapeutic strategies for controlling pulmonary inflammation without eliciting radiation injury.