Protective and restorative effects of hexarelin on MPTP-induced lung injury in mice.

Authors

Onur Celikoglu, Elif S Karanfil, Ozlem Ozmen

Published in

Journal of basic and clinical physiology and pharmacology. Aug 21, 2026. Epub Aug 21, 2026.

Abstract

This study investigated the protective and therapeutic effects of hexarelin (HEX) against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced lung injury in mice by evaluating oxidative stress, IL-6-mediated inflammation, and Caspase-3-dependent apoptosis.
Fifty male Balb/C mice were randomly assigned to five groups (n=10): control, MPTP, PREHEX, POSTHEX, and HEX. Parkinson-like neurotoxicity was induced by a single intranasal dose of MPTP (1 mg/kg). Hexarelin (10 μg/kg, i.p.) was administered twice at 4-h intervals before or after MPTP exposure. Lung tissues were examined histopathologically using hematoxylin-eosin staining, and immunohistochemically for Caspase-3, IL-6, and SOD expression.
MPTP caused severe pulmonary injury, including alveolar wall thickening, edema, hyperemia, and inflammatory infiltration, with increased Caspase-3 (p<0.001) and IL-6 (p=0.002) expression and reduced SOD immunoreactivity compared with controls (p<0.001). Both HEX regimens significantly reduced histopathological damage and improved immunohistochemical parameters (p<0.05). POSTHEX showed greater recovery than PREHEX, with lower apoptotic (p=0.005) and inflammatory (p=0.050) marker expression and higher SOD (p=0.007) levels. The enhanced efficacy of therapeutic post-treatment over prophylactic pretreatment is likely attributable to the active engagement of cytoprotective pathways during ongoing severe oxidative and inflammatory cascades, optimizing hexarelin's receptor-mediated cellular rescue mechanisms.
Hexarelin demonstrated significant protective and therapeutic effects against MPTP-induced lung injury by mitigating oxidative stress, suppressing inflammation, and limiting apoptosis.

PMID:
42619489
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 20 Aug 2026.

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