Effects of Oxymatrine on Balance of Th1/Th2 in Rats with Pulmonary Fibrosis

Objective: To observe Th1/Th2 in rats with pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin and investigate the effects of oxymatrine on pulmonary fibrosis in rats.Methods: The model of pulmonary fibrosis in rats was established by intratracheal perfusion of bleomycin.A total of 72 male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group,model group and oxymatrine treated group.Since the second day of model establishment,the rats in treatment group were given intraperitoneal injection of Oxymatrine until to be sacrificed.Six rats from each group were randomly sacrificed on days 3,7,14,28 to observe the pathological changes in lung tissues.The degree of pulmonary fibrosis was assessed by computer image analysis system(CIAS).The hydroxyproline(HYP),interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and interleukin-4(IL-4) in lung tissue were also detected.Results: Compared with the normal group,there were marked alveolitis,inflammatory cell infiltration and lung fibrosis in the model group.Compared with the model group,the alveolitis and collagen deposition were alleviated in treatment group(P 0.05).The HYP of model group was higher than that of normal group on 14th and 28th dags(P0.05).The HYP of treatment group was lower than that of model group on day 28th(P0.05).The concentration of IFN-γ in lung tissue of model group was significantly lower than that of normal group(P0.05).The IFN-γ concentration of treatment group was higher than that of model group(P0.05),and there was no significant difference between treatment group and normal group(P0.05).There was no significant difference of the IL-4 concentration between the three groups(P0.05).Conclusion: There is a hypo-response of Th1 in rats with pulmonary fibrosis,and oxymatrine can improve the pulmonary fibrosis,whose mechanisms may relate to correcting the imbalance of Th1/Th2.