The pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) involves excessive pulmonary inflammation and oxidative stress. In turn, autophagy is associated with inflammatory diseases and organ dysfunction, and studies have demonstrated that LPS treatment may trigger autophagy. Thus, excessive autophagy may stimulate the strong inflammatory response observed in the development of LPS‑induced ALI. Saturated hydrogen saline may alleviate LPS‑induced ALI by inhibiting autophagy, however its underlying mechanisms of action remain unknown. It has been suggested that saturated hydrogen saline may downregulate expression of nuclear factor (NF)‑κB, leading to a decrease in Beclin‑1 transcription and inhibition of autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy also occurs via the phosphorylation of Unc‑51‑like autophagy activating kinase 1 and autophagy‑related protein‑13 by mechanistic target of rapamycin, which in turn may be upregulated by saturated hydrogen saline. In addition, signaling pathways involving heme oxygenase‑1 and p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase are associated with the alleviative effects of saturated hydrogen saline on LPS‑induced autophagy. The present review focuses on potential molecular mechanisms regarding the effects of saturated hydrogen saline in the reduction of autophagy during LPS-induced ALI.

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