Abstract
BackgroundPingchuan 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsAn 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.ConclusionsTreatment 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.
Highlights
IntroductionPingchuan Formula (PCF) improves chronic airway inflammation by correcting the imbalance of T-helper cell ratio
Pingchuan Formula (PCF) is a traditional Chinese recipe
Asthma is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, bronchospasm and hyper-responsiveness (AHR) [1]
Summary
PCF improves chronic airway inflammation by correcting the imbalance of T-helper cell ratio. The discovery of the mutual inhibitory effects of Th1 and Th2 cells in mice [6] prompted the postulation that an imbalance between these two branches of the immune response would underlie Th1-mediated autoimmune diseases as well as Th2-mediated allergic diseases, including asthma [7]. It has been reported that in conjunction with increasing numbers of Th2 cells, there is an increase in the amount of interleukin 4 (IL-4) secreted, a cytokine that plays a major role in airway allergic inflammation [8]. It is well known that Th1/Th2 lymphocytes play an important role in the initiation, progression and persistence of allergic diseases including asthma. Due to its failure to adequately explain many (pre)clinical observations, many researchers consider the imbalance of Th1/Th2 in the mechanism underlying inflammatory and autoimmune disease to be an antiquated paradigm [9]
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