Effects of safflower decoction on skin and lung fibrosis of mice with systemic scleroderma and its mechanism

LIANG Juan; QI Chenglin; HU Moubo; ZHENG Xuejia; LYU Junying

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2016.12.005

Abstract：Objective To study the effects of safflower decoction on the skin and lung fibrosis of mice with systemic scleroderma ( SSc) and its mechanism.Methods Thirty-two BALB/C mice were randomly divided into the blank group, model group, prednisone group and safflower group, 8 mice in each group.The blank group was injected with normal sa-line, and the other three groups were treated with bleomycin ( BLM) at the back to establish the SSc models.At the same time, the blank group and model group were given normal saline (0.2 mL/d), the prednisone group was given prednisone (0.2 mL/d), safflower group was given safflower decoction (0.2 mL/d), and all groups were treated for 28 days.After 28 days, all mice were decapitated and the blood, back skin of the BLM injection part and lungs were collected.The patho-logical changes were observed by HE and Masson staining.After that, all the tissue slices were taken to measure the dermal thickness, and we detected the hydroxyproline ( HYP) content in the skin and lung tissues by sample hydrolysis method. The expression of IL-17 and IL-6 in the skin and lung tissues was detected by immunohistochemisty.The levels of IL-17 and IL-6 in serum was determined by ELISA.Results The dermal thickness was (295.90 ±53.44) μm in the blank group, (689.01 ±157.20) μm in the model group, (562.58 ±113.74) μm in the prednisone group, and (433.80 ± 83.62) μm in the safflower group (all P＜0.05).Compared with the blank group, the contents of HYP in the skin and lung tissues of the other three groups were increased;compared with the model group, the contents of HYP in the skin and lung tissues were decreased in the prednisone group and safflower group, and the decrease in the safflower group was more significant, and significant difference was found between groups (all P＜0.05).Compared with the blank group, the ex-pression of IL-17 and IL-6 in the skin and lung tissues and the levels of IL-17 and IL-6 in the serum of the other three groups were increased;compared with the model group, the expression of IL-17 and IL-6 in the skin and lung tissues and the levels of IL-17 and IL-6 in the serum were decreased in the prednisone group and safflower group, and the decrease in the safflower group was more significant ( all P＜0.05) .Conclusions Safflower decoction can improve lung and skin fi-brosis in SSc mice.Inhibiting the expression of IL-17 and IL-6, and alleviating immune inflammatory reaction may be one of its mechanisms.