Effect of Huanglian Wendantang on Inflammatory Response and Hepatocyte Burn Death in IGT Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate whether there is inflammatory reaction and cell pyroptosis in impaired glucose tolerance （IGT） rats induced by high-fat diet and the intervention effect of Huanglian Wendantang. Method:Healthy male SD rats were fed with 45% fat content diet for 20 weeks to replicate the IGT model. The rats in line with the model establish criteria were randomly divided into 3 groups， with 10 rats in each group， another 10 rats were selected as the blank control group. Huanglian Wendantang group was given 7.8 g·kg^-1·d^-1 compound decoction of Huanglian Wendantang， and the positive control group was given 0.05 g·kg^-1·d^-1 aqueous solution of metformin hydrochloride， with the dose volume of 10 mL·kg^-1·d^-1. The blank group and the model group were given the same volume of distilled water. After continuous intragastric administration for 4 weeks， the body weight， body length and abdominal circumferences were measured， the Lee's obesity index was calculated， and the levels of fasting plasma glucose （FPG） and 2-hour plasma glucose （2 h PG） were detected in each group. Serum interleukin-6 （IL-6） content was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The mRNA and protein expressions of nuclear factor kappa B （NF-<italic>κ</italic>B）， cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1 （Caspase-1） and NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） in liver tissues were detected by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of Caspase-1 and NLRP3 in rat liver. Hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the morphology of liver tissue. Result:Compared with blank group， the body weight， abdominal circumference， body length and Lee's index in model group were significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， the levels of FPG and 2 h PG were significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.05， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， serum IL-6 content and NF-<italic>κ</italic>B， Caspase-1 and NLRP3 gene and protein expressions in liver tissue were significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， immunofluorescence technique showed that Caspase-1 and NLRP3 expressions increased obviously in IGT rat model’s liver tissues， and inflammatory cells infiltration was observed obviously in HE stained rat liver tissue model. Compared with model group， Huanglian Wendantang and metformin hydrochloride groups could effectively reduce the body weight of IGT rats （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and abdominal obesity， and correct the levels of FPG and 2 h PG （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， while effectively reducing serum IL-6 content and gene and protein expressions of NF-<italic>κ</italic>B， Caspase-1 and NLRP3 in liver tissues of IGT rats， and alleviating inflammatory cell infiltration. Conclusion:Inflammatory response exists in IGT model rats induced by high-fat diet. Huanglian Wendantang can obviously reduce its inflammatory response and alleviate liver cell pyroptosis.