Department of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, 91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan.
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road, Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2022 Aug 6;22(1):211. doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03696-w.
Intestinal inflammation is considered to be an important characteristic of ulcerative colitis (UC) and the current medical treatments for UC are usually proposed to suppress abnormal intestinal immune responses. Pulsatilla decoction (PD), a traditional Chinese medicine, is frequently used in UC treatments in Asian countries; however, the mechanism of the action of PD remains unclear. In the present study, the mechanism of the action of PD was elucidated in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model, a model to mimic UC.
Murine colitis was evaluated by comparing the disease activity index score. The intestinal inflammation was examined by histology analyses. The leukocyte infiltration in the colonic tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry analyses. The cytokines level in colonic tissues was examined by Multi-Plex immunoassay. The epithelial proliferation was evaluated by histological analyses. Immunofluorescence double staining was used to examine the expression of MMP-7 in the immune cells.
In the DSS-induced colitis mouse model, administration of PD attenuated the intestinal inflammation, with a marked decrease in colonic infiltration of innate immune cells. Immunohistochemical analyses further showed that matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) expressed by the infiltrating leukocytes, including neutrophils and macrophages was inhibited by PD treatment. PD increases the cytokine level of IL-6 in colonic tissues.
PD suppresses intestinal inflammation, with a marked decrease in colonic infiltration of innate immune cells, through decreasing MMP-7 expression.
肠道炎症被认为是溃疡性结肠炎（UC）的一个重要特征，目前针对 UC 的医学治疗方法通常旨在抑制异常的肠道免疫反应。白头翁汤（PD）是一种中药，常用于亚洲国家的 UC 治疗；然而，PD 的作用机制尚不清楚。本研究在葡聚糖硫酸钠（DSS）诱导的结肠炎小鼠模型中阐明了 PD 的作用机制，该模型模拟了 UC。
通过比较疾病活动指数评分来评估小鼠结肠炎。通过组织学分析检查肠道炎症。通过免疫组织化学分析检查结肠组织中的白细胞浸润。通过多重免疫分析检查结肠组织中的细胞因子水平。通过组织学分析评估上皮细胞增殖。免疫荧光双重染色用于检查免疫细胞中 MMP-7 的表达。
在 DSS 诱导的结肠炎小鼠模型中，PD 给药可减轻肠道炎症，结肠固有免疫细胞浸润明显减少。免疫组织化学分析进一步表明，PD 治疗可抑制浸润白细胞（包括中性粒细胞和巨噬细胞）表达的基质金属蛋白酶-7（MMP-7）。PD 增加了结肠组织中细胞因子 IL-6 的水平。
PD 通过降低 MMP-7 的表达抑制肠道炎症，结肠固有免疫细胞浸润明显减少。
