Effects of fish oil treatment on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice

Bleomycin is an antibiotic used to treat a variety of neoplasms. A major side-effect of bleomycin therapy is the induction of an intense inflammatory response that develops into pulmonary fibrosis. Several studies have shown that certain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oil reduce the inflammatory response in vivo. Fish oil has been employed for the treatment of several pathologies such as glomerulonephritis, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and even as an adjuvant in cancer therapy. This study examined the effects of fish oil treatment on the development of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Mice were intraperitoneally treated with bleomycin or with saline daily for 10 days, and 15 days after the last injection they started to receive fish oil by gavage for 14 days. The lungs were processed for light microscopy, biochemical and immunohistochemical investigations. Fish oil did not prevent the development of pulmonary fibrosis after the injury as shown by light microscopy, cytokines immunohistochemical analysis, TBARS content and protein levels in the lung. In addition however, fish oil itself induced a slight inflammatory process in the lung, as observed by the increase in cellularity, vasodilatation in the lung parenchyma, TBARS content, and a slight increase in the lung protein content.