title: Anti-asthmatic effects of matrine in a mouse model of allergic asthma.
abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate the anti-asthmatic effects of matrine and the possible mechanisms. Asthma model was established by ovalbumin-induced. A total of 50 mice were randomly assigned to five experimental groups: control, model, dexamethasone (2 mg/kg) and matrine (50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg). Airway resistance (Raw) was measured, histological studies were evaluated by the hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), IL-4 and IL-13 signal protein STAT6 was measured by western blotting. Our study demonstrated that matrine inhibited OVA-induced increases in Raw and eosinophil count; IL-4 and IL-13 were recovered. Histological studies demonstrated that matrine substantially inhibited OVA-induced eosinophilia in lung tissue. Western blotting studies demonstrated that matrine substantially inhibited STAT6 protein level. These findings suggest that matrine may effectively ameliorate the progression of asthma and could be used as a therapy for patients with allergic asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Zhanqing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: spma@cpu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000187:drug effects; D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000276:immunology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000276:immunology; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D011807:Quinolizines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor / Q000276:immunology; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D000093842:Matrines
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D018793:Interleukin-13; D011807:Quinolizines; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor; C494100:Stat6 protein, mouse; D015847:Interleukin-4; D010047:Ovalbumin; D000093842:Matrines
keywords: Asthma; Matrine; STAT6