10.6084/m9.figshare.6231716.v1 David Lin David Lin Jonathan Li Jonathan Li Rabail Razi Rabail Razi Niha Qamar Niha Qamar Laurie Levine Laurie Levine Thomas Zimmerman Thomas Zimmerman Sayyed A. Hamidi Sayyed A. Hamidi Millicent Schmidt Millicent Schmidt Marc G. Golightly Marc G. Golightly Todd Rueb Todd Rueb Andrea Harrington Andrea Harrington Merrill Garnett Merrill Garnett Frank Antonawich Frank Antonawich Steven McClain Steven McClain Edmund Miller Edmund Miller Courtney Cox Courtney Cox Po Hsuan Huang Po Hsuan Huang Anthony M. Szema Anthony M. Szema Rux largely restores lungs in Iraq PM-exposed mice, Up-regulating regulatory T-cells (Tregs) Taylor & Francis Group 2018 Burn pits dust fibrosis iraq inflammation lung injury mice particulate matter rux 2018-05-08 15:49:15 Dataset https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Rux_largely_restores_lungs_in_Iraq_PM-exposed_mice_Up-regulating_regulatory_T-cells_Tregs_/6231716 <p><b>Background</b> Military personnel post-deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan have noted new-onset respiratory illness. This study's primary objective was to further develop an animal model of Iraq Afghanistan War Lung Injury (IAW-LI) and to test a novel class of anti-injury drug called RuX. <b>Methods</b> Particulate Matter (PM) samples were obtained in Iraq then characterized by spectromicroscopy. C57BL/6 mice underwent orotracheal instillation with PM, followed by drinkable treatment with RuX. Lung histology, inspiratory capacity (FlexiVent), thymic/splenic regulatory T cell (Treg) number, and whole-lung genomics were analyzed. <b>Results</b> Tracheal instillation of Iraq PM led to lung septate thickening and lymphocytic inflammation. PM-exposed mice had suppression of thymic/splenic regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Drinking RuX after PM exposure attenuated the histologic lung injury response, improved lung inspiratory capacity, and increased Tregs. Pooled whole lung genomics suggest differences among gene expression of IL-15 among control, PM, and PM + RuX groups. <b>Conclusions</b> RuX, a ruthenium and alpha-lipoic acid complex, attenuates lung injury by improving histology and inspiratory capacity via upregulation of Tregs in Iraq PM-exposed C57BL/6. Plausible genomic effects may involve IL-15 whole lung gene expression.</p>