Ghrelin attenuates drowning injury via dual effects on damage protection and immune repression

BACKGROUND: Seawater drowning is the major cause of accidental injury and death. The current treatment could not essentially block the source of the damage due to the complex etiology. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the detailed mechanisms and find effective therapeutic approaches. METHODS: study was performed with the seawater drowning model in rats. RESULTS: experiments also indicated that ghrelin treatment restored the apoptosis promotion and inflammation activation function of seawater simulants, and further alleviated the lung tissue injury. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed the dual effect of ghrelin on seawater drowning induced lung injury via damage protection and immune repression, providing new insights into drowning injury pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies.