Chen W, Li Y -M, Yu M -H
Department of Geriatrics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University of Shangai, China.
Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2008 Aug;116(8):468-74. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1058081.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease that is related to the disequilibrium state of Th1 and Th2 subgroups of helper T lymphocyte (Th) and their cytokines. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) are bioactive components extracted from one of the traditional Chinese herbs, used to enhance the function of human immune system.
To investigate the effects of APS on preventing type 1 DM and Th1/Th2-subtype cytokines, we compared the results of administration of APS and normal saline (NS) on non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice.
APS or NS was administered to 4-week-old mice at a dose of 2.0 g/kg per day for 10 weeks. At 40 weeks, blood glucose, serum C-peptide (C-P) and GAD antibody were measured; pancreas was examined histologically; the intra-islet lymphocyte infiltration and T lymphocyte subsets in the spleen were analysed; the gene expression of IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-alpha, INF-gamma, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, TGF-beta, Bcl-2, SOD, Fas and iNOS were measured by RT-PCR.
The results showed that APS-administered NOD mice had a lower incidence rate of type 1 DM, lower serum C-P level, better histologic findings of pancreatic islets, and a lower D4+/CD8+ ratio of T lymphocytes from the spleen and the infiltrated islets. RT-PCR analysis showed gene expression levels are lower in IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, TNF-alpha, INF-gamma, Fas, iNOS, and higher in IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, TGF-beta, Bcl-2, SOD in the pancreatic tissue from APS-administered NOD mice as compared to the NS group.
These results demonstrated the effects of Astragalus polysaccharides on the prevention of type 1 DM in NOD mice by correcting the imbalance between the Th1/Th2 cytokines.
1型糖尿病（DM）是一种慢性自身免疫性疾病，与辅助性T淋巴细胞（Th）的Th1和Th2亚群及其细胞因子的失衡状态有关。黄芪多糖（APS）是从一种传统中药中提取的生物活性成分，用于增强人体免疫系统功能。
为了研究APS对预防1型DM和Th1/Th2亚群细胞因子的影响，我们比较了APS和生理盐水（NS）对非肥胖糖尿病（NOD）小鼠给药的结果。
将APS或NS以每天2.0 g/kg的剂量给予4周龄小鼠，持续10周。在40周时，测量血糖、血清C肽（C-P）和谷氨酸脱羧酶抗体；对胰腺进行组织学检查；分析胰岛内淋巴细胞浸润和脾脏中的T淋巴细胞亚群；通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）测量白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、白细胞介素-2（IL-2）、白细胞介素-6（IL-6）、白细胞介素-12（IL-12）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）、干扰素-γ（INF-γ）、白细胞介素-4（IL-4）、白细胞介素-5（IL-5）、白细胞介素-10（IL-10）、转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）、B细胞淋巴瘤-2（Bcl-2）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、Fas和诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）的基因表达。
结果显示，给予APS的NOD小鼠1型DM发病率较低，血清C-P水平较低，胰岛组织学表现较好，脾脏和浸润胰岛中T淋巴细胞的D4+/CD8+比值较低。RT-PCR分析显示，与NS组相比，给予APS的NOD小鼠胰腺组织中IL-1β、IL-2、IL-6、IL-12、TNF-α、INF-γ、Fas、iNOS的基因表达水平较低，而IL-4、IL-5、IL-10、TGF-β、Bcl-2、SOD的基因表达水平较高。
这些结果证明了黄芪多糖通过纠正Th1/Th2细胞因子之间的失衡对预防NOD小鼠1型DM的作用。
