The Effects of Uygur Herb Hyssopus officinalis L. on the Process of Airway Remodeling in Asthmatic Mice.

Xiaojuan Ma,Jing Wang,Zhixing Ma,Wenyan Yu,Jianbing Ding,Xiumin Ma,Fengsen Li,Zhan Sun

doi:10.1155/2014/710870

Abstract

It has been proved that Uygur herb Hyssopus offcinalis L. could affect the levels of some cytokines (such as IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and IFN-γ) in asthmatic mice. By detection of the expressions of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 and the morphological changes, the aim of this research is to reveal the mechanism of Uygur herb Hyssopus offcinalis L. in the process of airway remodeling. It was observed that the expressions of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 increased, but the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 decreased in airway remodeling group. However, the expression of both MMP-9 and TIMP-1 decreased after being treated with dexamethasone and Hyssopus offcinalis L., accompanied by the relieved pathological changes, including collagen deposition, mucus secretion, and smooth muscle proliferation. It is suggested that Uygur herb Hyssopus offcinalis L. could inhibit airway remodeling by correcting imbalance of MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio.

Highlights

Asthma is a common clinical disease [1, 2]
Many reports have highlighted that the consequences of the wall thickening, subepithelial fibrosis, mucus metaplasia, myofibroblast and myocyte hyperplasia, and epithelial hypertrophy are the characteristic in response of remodeling
The deposition of excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) in the airway wall can result in airway wall fibrosis [15]

Summary

Introduction

Asthma is a common clinical disease [1, 2]. The epidemiological survey has shown that its incidence, mortality, and morbidity are increasing all over the world. In China, the incidence of asthma has doubled over the past decade. Present treatment of asthma in clinic is anti-inflammatory-based combination therapy. Some patients, especially hormone resistant ones, are not sensitive to this method. Hyssopus officinalis L., a kind of Uygur medicine Hyssop, is a perennial herb of Labiatae that could relieve cough and asthma. Previous studies have shown that Hyssopus officinalis L. may play anti-inflammatory role through regulating the secretions of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and correcting the imbalance between Th1/Th2 cells [3,4,5,6]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion