Thymus-dependent effects of a traditional Chinese medicine, ren-shen-yang-rong-tang (Japanese name; Ninjin-youei-to), in autoimmune MRI/MP-lpr/lpr mice.
Autoimmune MRL/lpr mice were i.p. treated with 200 mg/kg Ren-shen-yang-rong-tang (Japanese name: Ninjin-youei-to, NYT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine (Japanese name: Kampo), from 8 weeks of age every 3 days before the onset of autoimmune disease Compared to age-matched control MRL/lpr mice, the serum IL-6 concentration in NYT-treated mice was decreased, their serum IFN-gamma concentration was increased, and the proliferative responses of whole and enriched CD4+ cells in their spleen and lymph nodes stimulated with ConA in vitro were restored. FACS analysis revealed that the rate of decreased CD4+CD8+ T-cell population in the thymus was decreased in MRL/lpr mice but recovered by NYT treatment. Further, adult thymectomized (ATX) MRL/lpr mice were treated with 200 mg/kg NYT similarly. NYT treatment prolonged the survival of sham-operated MRL/lpr mice and ameliorated their proteinuria but did not improve such autoimmune manifestations in ATX-MRL/lpr mice. These findings suggest that NYT plays an important role in the abrogation of autoimmune-prone T cell differentiation and that the therapeutic effect of NYT is dependent on the thymus in MRL/lpr mice.
Kampo (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Research Laboratories, Kanebo Ltd, Osaka, Japan.
S
S
Nakai
T
T
Kawakita
H
H
Nagasawa
K
K
Himeno
K
K
Nomoto
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D019463:Mice, Inbred MRL lpr; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects; D013934:Thymectomy; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*
D016207:Cytokines; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D015850:Interleukin-6; C072867:ren-shen-yang-rong-tang