International Journal of Biomedical Science
1(1) 23-32
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© 2005 Master Publishing Group
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Original Article
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The effects of Rheum tanguticum polysaccharide on the polarization of Th1 and Th2 cells in TNBS-induced colitis in murine |
Liu Li1, Mei Qi-Bing*1,
Wang Zhi-Peng1,
Zhou Yu-Mei1, Zhang Hua2,
Long Yin1, Liu Jia-Yun1 |
1 Department of Pharmacology, Fourth Military Medical
University, Xi'an 710032, China 2 North China Pharmaceutical Group
Corporation, Shijiazhuang, 050015, China |
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Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic inflammatory intestinal disorders
that are characterized by thickened colon walls, colon ulcerations, including
two forms of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). UC and CD share
some similar clinico-pathological characteristics but their causes are opposite.
The imbalance in cytokinesis produced by Th1 and Th2 cells, the subunit of CD4+
T cells, plays a key role in the development of IBDs. Although traditional
treatment for IBDs is effective to some patients, it has numerous
adverse-effects such as immuno-depression. In our previous study we found some
therapeutic effects of Rheum tanguticum polysaccharide (RTP) on CD. Our present
investigation focuses on the comparison of the effects of RTP (200 mg•kg-1, once
a day for five days) on UC induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid
(TNBS)/ethanol in BALB/c mice and CD induced by TNBS in SD rats. The mechanism
of RTP was investigated by using immuno-histochemistry, Elisa assay, flow
cytometry and western-blot analysis. Our results showed that RTP had significant
therapeutic effects on both UC and CD. The ulcerative index and colon weight
were significantly attenuated after RTP treatment while MPO activity in
RTP-treated animals was markedly lower than that in the animals of TNBS
administration (P﹤0.05, P﹤0.01). RTP also showed significant inhibitory effects
on the expansion of CD4+T cells simultaneously improving the imbalance of Th1
and Th2 polarization (P﹤0.01). In conclusion, RTP appears to poses all the
pre-requisites to be applied in therapeutic intervention, thus, offering a hope
for effective treatment for IBDs.
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