ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Eosinophils (EOS) is one of the most important cells involved in the pathogenesis of chronic airway inflammation in asthma, and its apoptosis is part of the mechanisms of asthma. Therefore, this study aimed to observe the effect of Chinese medicine Wentong decoction (WTD) in EOS apoptosis in asthmatic rats. This work also explored the mechanism of WTD regulation in EOS apoptosis and provided a new target for clinical treatment of asthma. METHODS: Asthmatic rats induced by ovalbumin were treated with WTD. Lung function of rats in each group was detected, and lung tissue pathology, EOS counts in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were observed. The degree of the EOS apoptosis in rats was detected. The expression content of interleukin (IL)-5, IL-10, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1), interferon (IFN)-γ, and other cytokines in rat serum and the genes of Eotaxin mRNA, Fas mRNA, FasL mRNA, Fas/FasL and Bcl-2 mRNA in the lung tissues were determined. RESULTS: WTD can reduced airway resistance in rat models and improved airway compliance. The pathological changes of lung tissue in WTD group were significantly alleviated, at the same time, WTD could reduce the EOS count in the blood and BALF smears of the asthmatic model rats. Compared with the model group, the apoptosis degree of EOS significantly increased in rats in the WTD group. The expression of IL-5, CCL5, and GM-CSF in the serum and the expression of Eotaxin mRNA, Bcl-2 mRNA in the lung tissues in rats in the WTD group rats decreased. Moreover, the expression of IL-10, TGF-ß1, and IFN-γ in the serum and the expression of Fas mRNA, FasL mRNA in the lung tissues in rats in the WTD group rats increased compared with that in rats in the model group. CONCLUSIONS: Wentong decoction may accelerate EOS apoptosis, reduce asthma inflammation, and alleviate the disease through regulating and controlling the factors related to the anti-apoptosis and pro-apoptosis.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether recuperating lung decoction (RLD) can modulate the composition of gut microbiota in rats during asthma treatment. METHODS: Fifteen Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly and equally into control group, model group, dexamethasone (DEX) group, RLD medium-dose group, and RLD high-dose group. The asthma model was established in all groups, except for the control group. The rats in the DEX and RLD groups were treated orally with DEX and RLD, respectively. The rats in the control and model groups were treated orally with 0.9% saline. The intestinal bacterial communities were compared among groups using 16S rRNA gene amplification and 454 pyrosequencing. RESULTS: The microbial flora differed between the control and model groups, but the flora in the RLD groups was similar to that in the control group. No significant differences were observed between the RLD high-dose and medium-dose groups. RLD treatment resulted in an increase in the level beneficial bacteria in the gut, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. CONCLUSION: Oral administration of RLD increased the number of intestinal lactic acid-producing bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, in asthma model rats.
