[Effect of Wenyang Yiqi Pingchuan recipe on pathomorphology of lung and its regulation on lung tissue contents of nitric oxide and endothelin-1 in rats with bronchial asthma].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of Wenyang Yiqi Pingchuan Recipe (WYPR) on the pathomorphology of lung and its regulation on lung tissue contents of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in rats with bronchial asthma.


METHODS
Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: the normal group, the model group, and the four treated groups treated with high dose WYPR, low dose WYPR, Guilong Kechuanning Capsule and aminophylline, respectively, 10 in each group. Except those in the normal group, all rats of bronchial asthma model were established by egg protein sensitization and provocated by inhalation. The treatments were given via gastrogavage every day starting from the first provocation (the 3rd week of modeling) to the execution. Rats were sacrificed after 4-week treatment, their lung was taken for determining the contents of NO and ET-1, and histopathological changes in lung were observed as well.


RESULTS
Compared with the normal group, the contents of NO and ET-1 in the lung tissue, the thickness of bronchus wall and bronchus smooth muscle, the number of eosinophil granulocytes increased in the model group and the low dose WYPR group, showing statistical significance (P < 0. 01). As compared with the model group, all the above-mentioned indices were lower in all the 4 treated groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), but the lowering in the WYPR treated groups (either high or low dose) was more significant than in the Guilong Kechuanning treated group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01); while compared with the aminophylline treated group, the high dose WYPR group was superior in reducing eosinophile granulocytes (P < 0.01), but no significance between them was shown in NO and ET-1 levels (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
WYPR could reduce the eosinophilic infiltration, decrease the contents of NO and ET-1 in the lung tissue, restrain the air passage inflammation and inhibit the pathological process as airway remodeling.
Wang
Xiao-Hong
XH
The Second Affiliated Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang. wangxh689@sina.com
Yang
Mu-Xiang
MX
Yu
Wen-Tao
WT
D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D019332:Endothelin-1; C521735:pingchuan yiqi; D009569:Nitric Oxide