Effects of erythromycin on γ‐glutamyl cysteine synthetase and interleukin‐1β in hyperoxia‐exposed lung tissue of premature newborn rats

Objective: To explore the effect of erythromycin on hyperoxia‐induced lung injury. Methods: One‐day‐old preterm offspring Sprague‐Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups: group 1, air + sodium chloride; group 2, air + erythromycin; group 3, hyperoxia + sodium chloride; and group 4, hyperoxia + erythromycin. At one, seven, and 14 days of exposure, glutathione (GSH) and interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1 beta) were detected by double‐antibody sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) was used to detect GSH protein. γ‐glutamine‐cysteine synthetase (γ‐GCS) mRNA was detected by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Results: Compared with group 1, expressions of GSH and γ‐GCS mRNA in group 3 were significantly increased at one and seven days of exposure (p