Regulation of Fu-Fang-Huang-Long Decoction on acute airway asthmatic mice

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of Fu-Fang-Huang-Long Decoction on acute airway inflammation of asthmatic mice.Methods Health female Balb/C mice were randomly divided into four groups: control group(group A),asthma group(group B),dexamethasone group(group C) and Fu-Fang-Huang-Long Decoction group(group D).Asthma rat model was induced by ovalbumin(OVA,via intraperitoneal injection) combined with OVA aerosol administration.After modeling,dexamethasone(2mg/kg) and Fu Fang Huang Long decoction(2.7ml/kg) was administrated in group C and D,respectively.The airway reactivity(AR) was determined with pulmonary function test apparatus.The expression of T-bet/GATA-3mRNA was determined using q-RT-PCR.The level of IL-4 and IFN-γ in alveolar lavage fluid was evaluated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Hematoxylin and Eosin(HE) staining was performed to evaluate the pulmonary pathologies.Results None-invasive lung fuction reveals that when chloride acetycholine dose is higher than 12.5μg/ml,the penh value in groups C and D is significantly lower than group B(P0.05),but higher than group A.There is no significant difference between group C and D.Significant decrease of T-bet mRNA expression was noted in group B compared with group A(P0.001).Though T-bet mRNA expression in group D is higher than group C,there is no significant difference between them(P0.05).For the expression of GATA-3 mRNA,remarkable increase was noted in group B compared with group C and D.Higher expression of IL-4 was noted in group B compared with the other groups(P0.01).For the level of IFN-γ,remarkable decrease was noted in group B compared with group A.Significant increase was noted in BALF,eosinophilic granulocytes(EOS) in group B compared with those obtained from group C and D,respectively(P0.01).A large number of inflammatory cells were in the airway wall and lung tissue of Group B(eosinophils,lymphocyte predominant).There is significant differences compared with group A,such as the bronchial wall in group B become thicker and luminal narrower;The small bronchial lumen in group C and D is round and completely.The airway wall and lung tissue in group C showed eosinophils and a small amount of lymphocytic infiltrate basement membrane,which is significantly reduced in group B.Conclusions Fu-Fang-Huang-Long Decoction could relieve the pulmonary inflammatory reaction and improve pulmonary function,which may resulted from the two-way regulation of T-bet and GATA-3mRNA balance.