We know that alloxan causes increased-permeability pulmonary edema and that alloxan generates oxygen radicals (H2O2, O2−, ·OH) in blood. Therefore, we hypothesize that alloxan-generated oxygen radicals damage pulmonary capillary endothelial cells, and, possibly, alveolar epithelial cells as well. We examined whether oxygen radical scavengers, such as catalase or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), protected against alloxaninduced pulmonary edema.Five dogs in each following group were anesthetized: control group: physiological saline (20ml/kg/h); alloxan group: physiological saline + alloxan (75mg/kg) bolus injection at the beginning of the experiment; catalase group: physiological saline + catalase (150,000u/kg) bolus injection before injection of alloxan; DMSO group: physiological saline + DMSO (0.4mg/kg) bolus injection before alloxan. All dogs had 30-min baseline period and 3-h intervention period. Hemodynamics and circulating substances were measured at the specific points of time. At the end of intervention period, the dogs were killed and had the lungs removed for electron microscopic study and lung water measurement with direct destructive method.
