Effects of Pingchuan recipe on airway remodeling in mice with bronchial asthma

Objective: To study the effects of Pingchuan Recipe, a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treating bronchial asthma, on macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) contents and CD86 expression in a mouse model of bronchial asthma, and to investigate the mechanism of Pingchuan Recipe in regulating airway remodeling in mice with bronchial asthma. Methods: Fifty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group, untreated group, dexamethasone group, low-dose Pingchuan Recipe group and normal-dose Pingchuan Recipe group. Bronchial asthma in mice was induced by intra-abdominal injection of mixed ovalbumin and stimulation by inhaling 5% ovalbumin. Mice in the normal control group and the untreated group did not receive treatment, but mice in the other groups were administered intragastrically with 50 g/(kg · d) Pingchuan Recipe, 25 g/(kg · d) Pingchuan Recipe and 0.75 mg/(kg · d) dexamethasone, respectively. After consecutive treatment for 8 weeks, the MIP-1α contents in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured by an avidin biotin complex-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ABC-ELISA) system, and the IgE contents in serum and BALF were measured by ELISA method. Direct immunfluorescence-flow cytometry was used to detect the percentages of CD86+ and CD3- CD86+ cells in peripheral blood and BALF. General histological changes of the lung tissue were observed by HE staining and collagen fiber staining 12 weeks after activation. Results: Compared with the normal control group, the contents of MIP-1α, the percentages of CD86+ cells and CD3- CD86+ cells in peripheral blood and BALF, and the contents of IgE in serum and BALF were raised significantly (P<0.01). The contents of MIP-1α, the percentages of CD86+ cells and CD3- CD86+ cells in peripheral blood and BALF, and the contents of IgE in serum and BALF in the treated groups were lower than those in the untreated group (P<0.01). The contents of MIP-1α in peripheral blood and BALF and the contents of IgE in serum and BALF had no significant differences among the treated groups (P>0.05). The percentage of CD3- CD86+ cells in peripheral blood in low-dose Pingchuan Recipe group was lower than that in the dexamethasone group. Compared with the untreated group, the collagen deposition in the wall of bronchiole in the treated groups was decreased. Conclusion: Pingchuan Recipe can decrease the contents of MlP-1α, IgE and the expressions of CD86 in peripheral blood and BALF, which may be one of its mechanisms in improving chronic airway inflammation and inhibiting airway remodeling.