Regulatory effect of Langchuang serial recipes on T-lymphocyte subsets Th and Tc in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
OBJECTIVE
To study the principle of clearing Fei (), cooling blood, and detoxification as well as nourishing yin and moisening Fei (abbr. as CCD-NM) in regulating the levels of peripheral T-lymphocyte subsets Th and Tc cells to explore its mechanism for lowering the incidence of infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).


METHODS
Sixty SLE patients without complicated infection were assigned to the treatment group and the control group, 30 in each group. The control group was treated with Western medicine alone, while the treatment group was treated with the same program of Western medicine, but additionally administered with either Langchuang No.1 (I) or 2 (II), serial concerted Chinese recipes, applied respectively in patients in the active stage or in the resting stage. The total time of treatment for both groups was 1 year. Further, a healthy control group was set up with 20 healthy subjects. The expressions of Th1, Th2, and Tc1 and Tc2 cells in peripheral blood were detected and compared with those in the healthy control group.


RESULTS
(1) As compared with the healthy control group, ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 in SLE patients, whether complicated with infection or not, were significantly lower (P<0.05 or P<0.01). (2) Comparison between patients with complications and those uncomplicated with infection showed that the two ratios and Th1 expression were lower and Tc2 was higher in the former than those in the latter (all P<0.05). (3) Ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 increased after treatment in patients of both the treatment group and the control group (P<0.05 and P<0.01), but the changes in the treatment group were more significant (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The principle of CCD-NM could regulate the Th and Tc subsets toward equilibrium in SLE patients, which might be one of the mechanisms of action for alleviating complicated infection.
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hospital of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, China.
Xiao-juan
XJ
Tao
Hong-xia
HX
Zheng
Jian-ning
JN
Yu
Ji-lin
JL
Ma
Wen
W
Zhang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000187:drug effects*
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C534229:langchuang