title: The anti-inflammatory effect of Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees on pelvic inflammatory disease in rats through down-regulation of the NF-κB pathway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (APN), a principal constituent of a famous traditional Chinese medicine Fukeqianjin tablet which is used for the treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. However, whether it has pharmacological effect on PID in vivo is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the anti-inflammatory effect of APN and illuminate a potential mechanism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six female specific pathogen-free SD rats were randomly divided into control group, PID group, APN1 group, APN2 group, APN3 group and prednisone group. Pathogen-induced PID rats were constructed. The APN1, APN2 and APN3 group rats were orally administrated with APN extract at different levels. The prednisone group rats were administrated with prednisone. Eight days after the first infection, the histological examination of upper genital tract was carried out, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out using homogenate of the uterus and fallopian tube. Furthermore, immunohistochemical evaluations of NF-κB p65 and IκB-α in uterus was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  APN obviously suppressed the infiltrations of neutrophils and lymphocytes, and it could significantly reduce the excessive production of cytokines and chemokines including IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL-1, MCP-1 and RANTES in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, APN could block the pathogen-induced activation of NF-κB pathway.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  APN showed potent anti-inflammatory effect on pathogen-induced PID in rats, with a potential mechanism of inhibiting the NF-κB signal pathway.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 53 XiangChun Road, Changsha, 410008, China.|School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 53 XiangChun Road, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Zuoqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 53 XiangChun Road, Changsha, 410008, China. wxk19631214@sina.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoke
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, 410007, China.
authors.forename: Jieying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 53 XiangChun Road, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Shuqiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
authors.forename: Zeneng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Clinic Pharmacy Research Laboratory, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410011, China.
authors.forename: Daxiong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology Research, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, No. 53 XiangChun Road, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1121 Haibin Road, Guangzhou, 511458, Guangdong, China. jy.he@giat.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D035685:Andrographis / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005187:Fallopian Tubes / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D000292:Pelvic Inflammatory Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008517:Phytotherapy; D051381:Rats; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D014599:Uterus / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D016328:NF-kappa B
keywords: Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees; Anti-inflammatory; NF-κB; Pelvic inflammatory disease; Rats