[Effects of medicinal extract for tonifying kidney to relieve asthma on glucocorticoid receptor expression in lung tissues of rats with bronchial asthma].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the effects of medicinal extract for tonifying kidney to relieve asthma on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression in rats with asthma, and to explore its mechanism in treating asthma.


METHODS
Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, untreated group, dexamethasone group, and medicinal extract-prevented, medicinal extract-treated, and medicinal extract-prevented and -treated groups, with ten rats in each group. Asthma was induced by intraperitoneal injection of ovalbumin (OVA) and forced inhalation of atomized OVA. Expression of GR in lung tissues was detected by immunohistochemical method. Pathological changes of the lung tissues were observed by HE straining.


RESULTS
Expression of GR was lower in the untreated group than in the normal control group (P<0.05). Expressions of GR in medicinal extract groups were up-regulated as compared with those in the untreated group and dexamethasone group (P<0.05, P<0.01), and there were no significant differences as compared with the normal control group (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Medicinal extract for tonifying kidney to relieve asthma can increase the expression of GR in lung tissues of asthmatic rats, which may be one of its mechanisms in preventing and treating asthma.
Shi
Ke-hua
KH
Department of Respiratory Diseases, Shanghai Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200071, China.
Wu
Yin-gen
YG
Xiong
Bi-dan
BD
Yu
Xiao
X
D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects*; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000378:metabolism*
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid