Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of dexmedetomidine for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)in renal tubular epithelial cells on rat injured by lipopolysaccharide (LPS),then to explore the possible mechanism.Methods Rat renal tubular epithelial cells were purchased, recovered,cultured,then added LPS 10μg/L and were cultured and divided into three groups, group A,the blank control group,group B added dexmedetomidine 2.5μg as control group,group C joined atipamezole 10μg and added dexmedetomidine 2.5μg after 30 min as the experimental group,all continued culture for 1 2 h.Then,immunohistochemistry was used to measure TLR4 protein expression and TLR4mRNA in three groups,and the apoptosis rate of three groups were determined.Results After using dexmedetomidine,TLR4,TLR4mRNA and apoptotic rate of group B were lower than those of A group (all P<0.01 ),while TLR4,TLR4mRNA and apoptosis rate of group C were higher than those of group B (all P<0.01 ).Conclusion Dexmedetomidine can downregulate TLR4 expression in renal tubular epithelial cells of the rat inj ured by LPS,and the regulation for TLR4 of dexmedetomidine is related withα2 adrenoglc recptor excited.

Key words: dexmedetomidine, lipopolysaccharide, renal tubular epithelial cells