Effect of Chinese herbs on expression of aquaporin 3,4 gene in gastric mucosa of patients with Pi-Wei Damp-Heat syndrome / 中国中西医结合杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between Pi-Wei Damp-Heat Syndrome (PWDHS) with expression of aquaporin (AQP) 3,4 gene in gastric mucosa and the effects of Qingre Huashi Recipe (QHR) on the expression.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-eight patients with chronic superficial gastritis were differentiated into Pi-Wei Damp-Heat Syndrome group (PWDHS, n = 53, 19 cases with predominant Dampness, 14 cases with predominant Heat, 20 cases with Dampness equal to Heat) and Pi deficiency Syndrome group (PDS, n = 15). The PWDHS were treated with QHR. The expression of AQP 3,4 gene in the two groups were determined by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Expression of AQP 3 gene in PWDHS was higher than that in PDS and the healthy group, but the difference showed no statistical significance. Expression of AQP 4 gene in PWDHS was obvious higher than that in PDS and the healthy group (P <0.05 or P <0.01), but the difference of AQP 4 gene expression between PDS and the healthy group was insignificant. Comparison among various sub-types of PWDHS showed that the AQP 4 gene expression in the predominant dampness > dampness equal to heat> predominant heat. AQP 3,4 gene expression in PWDHS was significantly decreased after QHR treatment, especially in the cases with predominant dampness syndrome (P <0.01), approaching that in the healthy group and PDS.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Abnormal expression of AQP 3,4 gene may be one of the possible mechanisms of PWDHS pathogenesis, Chinese herbs could influence AQP 3,4 gene expression to play a key role in treatment.</p>