Effect of short-term intragastric administration of modified Buzhong Yiqi decoction on GSDME expression in subcutaneous colorectal cancer xenografts of nude mice

LUO Chaoyi; ZHU Junzhi; YE Xin; LI Mei; WANG Wei; XIE Biao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2025.08.004

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of short-term intragastric administration of modified Buzhong Yiqi de-coction(MBYD)on gasdermin E(GSDME)expression in subcutaneous colorectal cancer xenografts of nude mice,in or-der to provide theoretical basis for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)treatment of colorectal cancer.Methods Thirty specific-pathogen-free(SPF)nude mice were subcutaneously inoculated with SW480 colorectal cancer cell suspension in the right inner thigh to establish xenograft models.Mice were randomly divided into five groups(n=6 per group):the blank control group,chemotherapy group,low-dose MBYD group,medium-dose MBYD group and high-dose MBYD group,respectively.Mice in the blank control group received 0.9%NaCl via gavage;mice in the low-dose,medium-dose,and high-dose MBYD groups received MBYD at 26.72,53.43,and 106.86 g/kg via gavage,respectively;mice in the chemotherapy group received intraperitoneal injection of fluorouracil(25 mg/kg).All treatments lasted 14 days.Daily observations included activity status and mortality.On day 15 of administration,mice were euthanized,xenografts were ex-cised,and tumor mass/volume were measured.Immunohistochemistry(IHC)was used to detect GSDME expression in xe-nograft tissues.Results No deaths occurred during treatment.Compared with the blank control group,the chemothera-py group showed reduced activity and lethargy,while all MBYD groups maintained normal mental state,activity,and di-et;the general condition was better than that of the chemotherapy group and the blank control group.No significant differ-ences in tumor mass or volume were observed among groups(all P>0.05).GSDME expression levels were significantly higher in the chemotherapy and medium-dose and high-dose MBYD groups than in the blank control and low-dose MBYD groups(all P<0.05).Conclusion Short-term intragastric administration of MBYD enhances GSDME expression in colorectal cancer xenografts of nude mice but exhibits limited tumor-inhibiting effects.