The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of preconditioning of physiological cyclic stretch (CS) on the overexpression of early pro‑inflammatory cytokines [including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, interleukin (IL)‑1β and IL‑8] during the inflammatory response induced by pathologically mechanical stretch in lung epithelial cells, and to determine its molecular mechanism of action. Cells were subjected to 5% CS for various durations (0, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min) prior to 6 h treatment with pathological 20% CS. In a separate experiment, cells were preconditioned with physiological 5% CS or incubated with a nuclear factor (NF)‑κB inhibitor, pyrroldine dithiocarbamate (PDTC). The expression levels of inflammatory mediators were measured using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. NF‑κB was quantified using western blot analysis. Preconditioning with physiological 5% CS for 30, 60 and 120 min was demonstrated to significantly attenuate the release of pathologically mechanical stretch‑induced early pro‑inflammatory cytokines (TNF‑α, IL‑1β and IL‑8) in alveolar epithelial cells (P<0.05) and significantly reduce the expression of NF‑κB (P<0.05). Peak suppression was observed in cells preconditioned for 60 min. In the second set of experiments, it was demonstrated that mechanical stretch‑induced release of TNF‑α, IL‑1β and IL‑8 was significantly inhibited by both PDTC pretreatment and 5% CS pretreatment alone (all P<0.05). Furthermore, significant inhibition was also observed when both 5% CS pretreatment and PDTC pretreatment was used on mechanical stretch‑induced cells (P<0.05), which was markedly greater than the inhibition induced by either pretreatment alone. The present findings suggest that preconditioning with physiological 5% CS is able to inhibit the inflammatory response induced by pathologically mechanical stretch in alveolar epithelial cells. These anti‑inflammatory effects are induced, at least in part, by suppressing the NF‑κB signaling pathway.

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