Pingchuan formula improves asthma via restoration of the Th17/Treg balance in a mouse model

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Xinguang Zhang²  Zheng Xue²  Li Bai²  Jianer Yu²  Fei Liu¹ 

[1] Wuxi Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuxi 214001, China;Pediatrics Shanghai Academy, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated to Shanghai TCM University, Shanghai 200071, China

关键词: Asthma mouse model;    Pingchuan formula (PCF);    Asthma;    Th17/Treg;   

Others  :  1219999
DOI  :  10.1186/s12906-015-0755-8

 received in 2014-11-19, accepted in 2015-06-30,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Pingchuan Formula (PCF) is a traditional Chinese recipe. PCF improves chronic airway inflammation by correcting the imbalance of T-helper cell ratio. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PCF on pathological changes in the lungs of asthmatic mice in terms of Treg/Th17 balance.

Methods

A bronchial asthma BALB/c mouse model was established using the ovalbumin excitation method. Distilled water (for MDL group) and drugs (for DEX or PCF group) were administered by gavage immediately after the first excitation. Mice were sacrificed after 7 and 28 d treatment. Lung tissues and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected and lung pathological changes were observed after hematoxylin and eosin staining. Differential cell counts, concentrations of interleukins-6, -17, -23 and TGF-β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of transcriptional factors Foxp3 and RORγt was determined by immunohistochemistry and immunoblot.

Results

An asthma model was successfully established. After 7 or 28 d treatment, lung pathological changes were improved and concentration of interleukins-6, -17, -23 and TGF-β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid significantly decreased in the PCF group. RORγt expression in lung tissue was decreased in the PCF group, while Foxp3 expression increased (all P values < 0.05 compared with the MDL group). There was no significant difference between the PCF and DEX group except that mice in the PCF group lost less bodyweight.

Conclusions

Treatment with PCF downregulates RORγt, elevates Foxp3 expression, reduces interleukins-6, -17, -23 and TGF-β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, thus restoring Th17/Treg balance, improving airway inflammation and reducing asthma symptoms.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Liu et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

Figure 10.

Fig. 3.

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