Chi Honggang, Wang Dan, Chen Mengting, Lin Jiantao, Zhang Shuhua, Yu Fengyan, Zhou Jun, Zheng Xuebao, Zou Ying
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Clinical Medical College, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2021 Apr 20;12:524287. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.524287. eCollection 2021.
Shaoyao decoction (SYD), a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula, is effective for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effects of SYD on IBD and possible mechanisms. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS, 3.5%) was used to induce colitis in C57BL/6 mice. Disease phenotypes were investigated based on disease activity index (DAI), colon length, and microscopic and macroscopic scores. Additionally, the presence of proinflammatory cytokines, immune cell infiltrates, intestinal cell proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial permeability, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling, as well as the intestinal mucosal barrier function, were investigated. The administration of SYD significantly ameliorated the clinical signs, suppressed the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and reduced immune cell infiltrates into colonic tissues of DSS-induced colitis model mice. SYD also significantly reduced the DSS-induced activation of STAT3 and NF-κB signaling. Furthermore, SYD promoted epithelial integrity by regulating epithelial cell apoptosis and epithelial permeability. Finally, we demonstrated that SYD protected the intestinal barrier function by significantly regulating the mucus layer genes , , , and , as well as the epithelial barrier genes and . Our results indicate that SYD has a protective effect on DSS-induced colitis, which is attributable to its anti-inflammatory activity and intestinal barrier function-enhancing effects. These results provide valuable insights into the pharmacological actions of SYD for the treatment of IBD.
芍药汤（SYD）是一种经典的中药方剂，对治疗炎症性肠病（IBD）有效。本研究旨在探讨芍药汤对IBD的治疗作用及可能的机制。采用葡聚糖硫酸钠（DSS，3.5%）诱导C57BL/6小鼠患结肠炎。根据疾病活动指数（DAI）、结肠长度以及微观和宏观评分来研究疾病表型。此外，还研究了促炎细胞因子的存在、免疫细胞浸润、肠细胞增殖、凋亡、上皮通透性、信号转导和转录激活因子3（STAT3）以及核因子-κB（NF-κB）信号传导，以及肠道黏膜屏障功能。给予芍药汤可显著改善临床症状，抑制促炎细胞因子水平，并减少免疫细胞浸润到DSS诱导的结肠炎模型小鼠的结肠组织中。芍药汤还显著降低了DSS诱导的STAT3和NF-κB信号传导的激活。此外，芍药汤通过调节上皮细胞凋亡和上皮通透性促进上皮完整性。最后，我们证明芍药汤通过显著调节黏液层基因、、、以及上皮屏障基因和来保护肠道屏障功能。我们的结果表明，芍药汤对DSS诱导的结肠炎具有保护作用，这归因于其抗炎活性和增强肠道屏障功能的作用。这些结果为芍药汤治疗IBD的药理作用提供了有价值的见解。
