Aerosol-Administered Adelmidrol Attenuates Lung Inflammation in a Murine Model of Acute Lung Injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common and devastating clinical disorder with a high mortality rate and no specific therapy. The pathophysiology of ALI is characterized by increased alveolar/capillary permeability, lung inflammation, oxidative stress and structural damage to lung tissues, which can progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Adelmidrol (ADM), an analogue of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions, which are mainly due to down-modulating mast cells (MCs) and promoting endogenous antioxidant defense. The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective effects of ADM in a mice model of ALI, induced by intratracheal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at the dose of 5 mg/kg. ADM 2% was administered by aerosol 1 and 6 h after LPS instillation. In this study, we clearly demonstrated that ADM reduced lung damage and airway infiltration induced by LPS instillation. At the same time, ADM counteracted the increase in MC number and the expression of specific markers of MC activation, i.e., chymase and tryptase. Moreover, ADM reduced oxidative stress by upregulating antioxidant enzymes as well as modulating the Nf-kB pathway and the resulting pro-inflammatory cytokine release. These results suggest that ADM could be a potential candidate in the management of ALI.