The Possible Ameliorative Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Curcumin Onbleomycin Induced Lung Injuries in the Adult Male Rats: Histological and Immunohistochemical Study

Background: Bleomycin (BLM) is a chemotherapeutic agent that produces pulmonary fibrosis. Curcumin is a naturally occurring compound, uses in medicine and has many beneficial therapeutic effects. Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) is a novel approach with great therapeutic potential for the treatment of fatal pulmonary fibrosis. Aim of the work: To evaluate whether or not curcumin improves the stem cells therapeutic effects on bleomycin induced lung injuries in adult male rats. Material and methods: Fifty adult male rats were included and divided equally into 5 groups. Group I (control), Group II (bleomycin group): The rats received single intratracheal instillation of 1 mg/kg of bleomycin, Group III (curcumin group): The rats received curcumin 200 mg/kg body weight orally by gastric tube 5 days/week for 4 weeks, Group IV (stem cell group): The rats injected intraperitoneal by a single dose 3 × 106 of MSCs after 4 weeks of bleomycin injection, Group V (stem cell and curcumin group): The rats received curcumin as in the groups III after 4 weeks of bleomycin injection for 4 weeks and injected with the MSCs intraperitoneal after the last dose of curcumin. Lung samples were processed and examined using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: Group II showed thickening of interalveolar septa by RBCs and mononuclear cellular infiltration. Many collapsed alveoli, while other alveoli were dilated and ruptured. Their bronchiole lined by epithelial cells with deeply stained nuclei and their lumen were full of exfoliated epithelial cells. A significant increase in collagen and elastic fibers accumulation, positive PCNA immunoreactivity within the nuclei of cells lining alveoli and marked positive COX2 immunoreactivity within cytoplasmic of alveolar epithelial cells and in the bronchiolar epithelium. Group III, IV showed attenuation of some histological changes as compared to group II, while Group V showed improvement of the histological and immunohistochemical changes described before. Conclusion: Bone marrow derived mesenchymal can attenuate bleomycin induced lung injuries in rats, but curcumin can yield better beneficial effect over the BMSCs therapy alone.