Pingchuan formula ( (sic) (sic)) improves allergic asthma in mice through inhibiting nuclear factor-kappa B/mitogen-activated pro-tein kinase signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role and decipher the mechanism of Pingchuan formula ((sic)(sic), PCF) in treating allergic asthma. METHODS: The mice were treated with saline, dexamethasone (DXM) and PCF for 1 week after the asthma model was established and their respi-ratory function including respiratory resistance (RI), pulmonary dynamic compliance (Cdyn) and maxi-mum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were measured. In addition, cellular changes in bronchoalveolar la-vage fluid (BALF) and pathological changes in lung biopsy as well as the expression level of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), transforming growth fac-tor-beta1 (TGF-beta 1) in BALF and interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-13 (IL-13), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), nuclear factor-kappa B-p65 (NF-Kappa Bp65), inhibitor-alpha of nuclear transcrip-tion factor Kappa B (I Kappa B alpha), p38 mitogen-activated pro-tein kinase (p38MAPK), c-jun n-terminal kinase (JNK) and its phosphorylated proteins in lung tis-sue were also examined and compared among dif-ferent groups. RESULTS: Our data suggested that the respiratory functions were significantly improved and the path-ological changes ameliorated in the DXM group and the PCF group compared to the model group. Both DXM and PCF effectively decreased the num-ber of eosinophils, lymphocytes, and neutrophils in BAL as well as the secretion of alpha-SMA and TGF-beta 1, IL-5, IL-13, while increased the expression of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma. Furthermore, our study indicated that the NF-Kappa Bp65, I Kappa B alpha, p38MAPK and JNK pathways were inhibited under the treatment of PCF. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that PCF can at-tenuate the inflammatory response in asthma thr-ough inhibiting the NF -Kappa B/MAPK signaling path-way. This study not only supported the use of PCF in allergic asthma in clinic but also shed light upon a further understanding of the disease pathogenesis. (c) 2021 JTCM. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that Pingchuan formula can effectively treat allergic asthma by attenuating inflammatory response through inhibiting the NF-Kappa B/MAPK signaling pathway. This has important implications for clinical treatment and further understanding of the disease pathogenesis.