Therapeutical effect of berberine on ulcerative colitis rats and its mechanism

ZHANG Junhong; LI Hongmei; HUANG Xue; JING Jie; ZHANG Xianglian; YU Minghua; SHI Liu

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2019.05.011

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of berberine in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in rats. Methods Twenty-four SD rats were divided into three groups (n = 8): the control group, model group, and berberine group. The rats in the model group and berberine group were given 5.5％ dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution to drink freely, forming the UC rat models. The rats in the control group were given distilled water to drink freely for seven days. In the next seven days, the control group and the model group were given distilled water by gavage, and the berberine group was given berberine (100 mg/kg). The degree of disease activity (DAI score) and the pathological changes of colon tissues in each group were observed. The serum IL-9 level was measured by ELISA, and the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression levels of TLR2 mRNA and TLR2 protein in rat colon tissues. Results Compared with the control group, the DAI score, the colon histopathology score, the serum IL-9 level, TLR2 mRNA and TLR2 protein expression increased in the model group and berberine group (all P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the DAI score on day 14 and the colon histopathology score decreased, and the serum IL-9 level, mRNA and protein expression of TLR2 decreased in the berberine group (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Berberine improves gastrointestinal symptoms and promotes intestinal mucosal healing in rat with UC. Berberine may play an important role in the treatment of UC by reducing the level of IL-9 and the mRNA and protein expression of TLR2.