The effect of tripholide on the expression of nuclear factor-κB in bronchial asthma

AIM To explore the effect of the tripholide on the expression of nuclear factor κB(NF κB) in asthmatic guinea pigs. METHODS 30 guinea pigs were randomly divided into 3 groups: (1)Control group; (2)Model group: 10% ovalbumin(OA) solution of 1 ml was injected intraperitoneally. After 14 days the guinea pigs were given an aerosol of 1% OA solution by inhalation to acute asthmatic symptoms, once per day for one week. (3)Therapeutic group: treated same as model group, and injected intraperitoneally with tripholide of 100 μg·kg -1 after asthma occurred, once per day for one week. Pulmonary function and eosinophilic inflammation of airway wall were observed, the expression of NF κB in lung tissue were observed by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS The expression of NF κB was mainly located in airway epithelium in these 3 groups, the percentage of cells of nuclear staining in epithelium were 14 3%±2 6%, 32 5%±5 8%, 19 7%±2 1%, respectively. The model group showed higher per centage than that of the control group( P 0 01), and the therapeutic group showed lower percentage than that of the model group ( P 0 01). CONCLUSION The expression of NF κB was inhibited significantly by the treatment of the tripholide, which suggested inhibiting the expression of NF κB may be one of the mechanism for treating asthma by tripholide.