Weiling Huang1, Ying Song2, Lixin Wang3. 1. Department of Respiration, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200071, China. 2. Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. 3. Department of Integrated TCM and Western Medicine, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Wenshen decoction, consisting of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim, Morinda officinalis How and Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, has favorable efficacy in the treatment of asthma in China. METHODS: The present study investigated the potential immunomodulatory mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of Wenshen decoction on mouse asthma. RESULTS: Oral Wenshen decoction could ameliorate the production of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), reduce serum IgE, and improve the airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation in the BALB/c mice after intranasal treatment with recombinant IL-33. Moreover, Wenshen decoction reduced ILC2 and RORα mRNA expression, decreased the mRNA expression of ICOS and ST2 in the lung, but significantly increased the production of IFN-γ. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that Wenshen decoction may inhibit the activation of ILC2 through the IL-33/ST2/ICOS pathway to further suppress airway inflammation and AHR in the asthmatic mice, and the increased IFN-γ might be related to the effects of Wenshen decoction on ILC2. 2019 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Wenshen decoction, consisting of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim, Morinda officinalis How and Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, has favorable efficacy in the treatment of asthma in China. METHODS: The present study investigated the potential immunomodulatory mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of Wenshen decoction on mouse asthma. RESULTS: Oral Wenshen decoction could ameliorate the production of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), reduce serum IgE, and improve the airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation in the BALB/c mice after intranasal treatment with recombinant IL-33. Moreover, Wenshen decoction reduced ILC2 and RORα mRNA expression, decreased the mRNA expression of ICOS and ST2 in the lung, but significantly increased the production of IFN-γ. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that Wenshen decoction may inhibit the activation of ILC2 through the IL-33/ST2/ICOS pathway to further suppress airway inflammation and AHR in the asthmatic mice, and the increased IFN-γ might be related to the effects of Wenshen decoction on ILC2. 2019 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.
Entities:
Keywords:
Asthma; ILC2; Wenshen decoction; traditional Chinese medicine
Authors: Christina A Christianson; Nicholas P Goplen; Iram Zafar; Chaoyu Irvin; James T Good; Donald R Rollins; Balachandra Gorentla; Weimin Liu; Magdalena M Gorska; HongWei Chu; Richard J Martin; Rafeul Alam Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2015-01-21 Impact factor: 10.793