ABSTRACT
This study was aimed to explore the mechanism of Jia-Yan-Kang-Tai (JYKT) on Th1/Th2 immune cell imbalance in rats with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT).A total of 40 Lewis rats were made into AIT rat model.Six week later,AIT rats were randomly divided into the model group,low-dose,middle-dose and high-dose JYKT group,with 10 rats in each group.Intragastric administration of deionized water,0.708 g· kg-1,1.417 g· kg-1 and 2.834 g· kg-1 JYKT was given to rats in each group,respectively for 8 consecutive weeks.Serum TgAb and TPOAb were detected.The ratio of Th1 cell,Th2 cell and Th1/Th2 was measured.Contents of IL-4,IL-5,IFN-γ,TNF-α and IL-1oα in plasma were detected.The pathology of thyroid tissues was observed by HE dyeing.The protein expressions of IFN-γ and IL-4 in thyroid tissues were observed under immunohistochemical staining.The results showed that high-dose JYKT group can reduce the level of TPOAb and TGAb,the incidence of thyroiditis,the ratio of Th1 cell,Th2 cell and Th1/Th2;decrease contents of IFN-γ,TNF-α,IL-1α,IL-4 and IL-5 in plasma;reduce the protein expression of IFN-γ and IL-4 in thyroid tissues.It was concluded that JYKT was able to suppress thyroid autoantibodies of AIT rats,which may be related to the regulation of cytokine level and Th 1/Th2 immune cell imbalance.