Blueberry anthocyanins ameliorate radiation-induced lung injury through the protein kinase RNA-activated pathway

•Radiation-induced lung inflammation and apoptosis.•BA ameliorated radiation-induced lung injuries.•BA ameliorated radiation-induced lung injuries through the PKR signaling pathway.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of blueberry anthocyanins (BA) on radiation-induced lung injury and investigate the mechanism of action. Seven days after BA(20 and 80 mg/kg/d)administration, 6 weeks old male Sprague–Dawley rats rats were irradiated by LEKTA precise linear accelerator at a single dose of 20 Gy only once. and the rats were continuously treated with BA for 4 weeks. Moreover, human pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells (HPAEpiC) were transfected with either control-siRNA or siRNA targeting protein kinase R (PKR). Cells were then irradiated and treated with 75 μg/mL BA for 72 h. The results showed that BA significantly ameliorated radiation-induced lung inflammation, lung collagen deposition, apoptosis and PKR expression and activation. In vitro, BA significantly protected cells from radiation-induced cell death through modulating expression of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3. Suppression of PKR by siRNA resulted in ablation of BA protection on radiation-induced cell death and modulation of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic proteins, as well as Caspase-3 expression. These findings suggest that BA is effective in ameliorating radiation-induced lung injury, likely through the PKR signaling pathway.