Effect of Zhizhu Pill on Gastric Smooth Muscle Contractile Response and Protein Expression of Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor in Functional Dyspepsia Rats / 中国中西医结合杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the therapeutic mechanism of Zhizhu Pill (ZP) for treating functional dyspepsia (FD) rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 30 ten-day-old male rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (n =10) and the model group (n = 20). The FD rat model was induced using gastric administration of 0.1% iodoacetamide (IA) combined tail clamping. The model was evaluated when rats were 8-week old. Successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into the model group (n = 10) and the ZP group (n = 10). Rats in the normal group and the model group were administered with normal saline by gastrogavage, while those in the ZP group were administered with ZP Decoction (2 mL/100 g) by gastrogavage. All medication lasted for 7 successive days. The contractile activity in in vitro longitudinal gastric muscle was recorded using Power Lab biological signal collecting system. The expression of growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) in stomach of FD rats was detected using Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal group, average frequencies of gastric contraction and changing rates of amplitude obviously decreased in the model group (P < 0.05). Results of Western blot and IHC showed that the expression of GHSR decreased in the model group (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, average frequencies of gastric contraction and changing rates of amplitude obviously increased in the ZP group (P < 0.05). Results of Western blot and IHC showed that the expression of GHSR increased in the ZP group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ZP could promote the gastric motility in FD rats induced by gastric administration of IA combined tail clamping, and its mechanism might be related to up-regulating GHSR protein level.</p>