Abstract

Background: Gamijinhae-tang (GJHT) has long been used in Korea to treat respiratory diseases. The therapeutic effect of GJHT is likely associated with its anti-inflammatory activity. However, the precise mechanisms underlying its effects are unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of GJHT in a porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) and lipopolysaccharide(LPS) induced animal model of acute lung injury (ALI).Methods: In this study, mice were intranasally exposed to PPE and LPS for 4 weeks to induce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-like lung inflammation. Two hours prior to PPE and LPS administration, the treatment group was administered GJHT extracts via an oral injection. The numbers of neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages and total cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were counted, and pro-inflammatory cytokines were also measured. For histologic analysis, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stains and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stains were evaluated.Results: After inducing ALI by treating mice with PPE and LPS for 4 weeks, the numbers of neutrophils, lymphocytes and total cells were significantly lower in the GJHT group than in the ALI group. In addition, the IL-1β and IL-6 levels were significantly decreased in the GJHT group. The histological results also demonstrated the attenuation effect of GJHT on PPE- and LPS-induced lung inflammation.Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that GJHT has significantly reduces PPE- and LPS-induced lung inflammation. The remarkable protective effects of GJHT suggest its therapeutic potential in COPD treatment. © 2013 Sohn et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Author keywords

ALI; COPD; Elastase; Gamijinhae-tang; Goblet cell; IL-1β; IL-6

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: Astragalus membranaceus extract; baicalein; cycline; dexamethasone; Gamijinhae tang extract; hesperidin; interleukin 1beta; interleukin 6; leukocyte elastase; lipopolysaccharide; mucin 5AC; mucin 5B; plant extract; Rehmannia glutinosa extract; unclassified drug

EMTREE medical terms: acute lung injury; animal cell; animal experiment; animal model; animal tissue; article; Astragalus membranaceus; controlled study; drug structure; Gamijinhae tang; Glycyrrhiza uralensis; goblet cell; herbal medicine; high performance liquid chromatography; immunocompetent cell; immunohistochemistry; inflammatory cell; leukocyte differential count; lung parenchyma; medicinal plant; Morus alba; mouse; nonhuman; Platycodon; pneumonia; Poria cocos; prescription; real time polymerase chain reaction; Schisandra chinensis; Scutellaria baicalensis; Sinapis; structure activity relation

MeSH: Acute Lung Injury; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Disease Models, Animal; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Interleukin-1beta; Interleukin-6; Lipopolysaccharides; Lung; Lymphocytes; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Neutrophils; Pancreatic Elastase; Phytotherapy; Pneumonia; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Republic of Korea; Swine
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.

Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: baicalein, 491-67-8; dexamethasone, 50-02-2; hesperidin, 520-26-3; leukocyte elastase, 109968-22-1