Effects of Gongyanping Capsule on genital tract infected by ureaplasma urealyticum and fertility of mice / 国际中医中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the effect of Gongyanping Capsule on genital tract infected by ureaplasma urealyticum and fertility of mice, and to explore its mechanism.Methods:One hundred female ICR mice were divided into normal control group, model control group, azithromycin group, the low and high-dose group of Gongyanping Capsule according to random number table method. Except for the normal control group, the other groups were infected with ureaplasma urealyticum to establish the reproductive tract inflammation model. The azithromycin group was given 40 mg/kg of azithromycin, the low and high-dose groups were given 50 and 100 mg/kg of Gongyanping Capsule respectively, the normal control group and model control group were given equal volume of normal saline, once a day, for 4 consecutive weeks. The fertility status of each group was recorded. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of the vaginal tissues of the mice in each group, and the content of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), IL-4, IL-12, TNF-α myeloperoxidase (MPO) and GSH-Px of the mice in each group were determined; RT-PCR and Western blot were used to determine the vagina level of mRNA and protein expressions of TLR4 and NF-κB.Results:Compared with the model control group, the birth time and the number of dead mice in the azithromycin group and the low and high dose groups of Gongyanping Capsule decreased ( P<0.05), and the number of born mice increased ( P<0.05). The level of MCP-1, MPO, IL-4, IL-12, TNF-α decreased ( P<0.05), the level of GSH-Px increased ( P<0.05), the expression of TLR4 mRNA (1.25±0.33, 2.97±0.92, 2.32±0.72 vs. 3.69±1.32), NF-κB mRNA (1.48±0.42, 2.91±0.99, 2.13±0.70 vs. 3.83±1.41) decreased ( P<0.05), the expression of TLR4 (0.63±0.13, 1.32 ± 0.34, 1.04 ± 0.33 vs. 1.63 ± 0.41), NF-κB (0.63 ± 0.14, 1.36 ± 0.32, 1.03 ± 0.30 vs. 1.94 ± 0.58) decreased ( P<0.05), and had a certain dose-dependence. Conclusion:Gongyanping Capsule has obvious therapeutic effect on genital tract mice infected by ureaplasma urealyticum, and can significantly improve the fertility of mice; the mechanism may be related to that Gongyanping Capsule could inhibit the vaginal TLR4/NF-κB pathway in mice.