Effect of Jiedu-Quyu-Ziyin Fang on systemic lupus erythematosus and IL-17 secretion by CCR6+ CXCR5+ Th17 cells
SHAO Yan
AI Xiufeng
ZHENG He
QIU Xinmin
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of Jiedu-Quyu-Ziyin Fang(JQZF)on systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)-like model mice and its impact on interleukin-17(IL-17)secretion by C-C chemokine receptor 6 positive/C-X-C chemokine receptor 5 positive T helper 17 cells(CCR6+CXCR5+Th17).Methods After one week of acclimatization,50 SPF-grade female BALB/c mice were immunized with ALD-DNA to establish a lupus-like mouse model in syngeneic BALB/c mice.The mice were randomly divided into a blank group,a low-dose JQZF group,a medium-dose JQZF group,a high-dose JQZF group,and a positive control group,with 10 mice in each group.The mice in each group were administered the corresponding drugs by gavage for 4 weeks.The blank group was gavaged with pure water,and the positive control group was gavaged with prednisone acetate solution.The 24-hour urine samples from mice were collected and blood was taken from the submandibular vein to separate serum before drug administration and two weeks after the last administration.The mice were sacrificed and dissected to collect the spleen,thymus,mesenteric lymph nodes and kidney.During the experiment,the general condition of mice in each group was observed.Urine protein was detected by biuret method.Serum anti-double-stranded DNA(ds-DNA)IgG antibody and IL-17 were measured by ELISA.The proportion of CCR6+CXCR5+Th17 cells was determined by flow cytometry.The relationship between anti-ds-DNA antibody concentration,IL-17,and the proportion of CCR6+CXCR5+Th17 cells was analyzed using Pearson's correlation method.Pathological sections of mouse kidney tissues were observed under an optical microscope.Results The low-,medium-,and high-dose JQZF groups and the positive control group exhibited increased liveliness in mental state,enhanced activity levels,reduced hair loss,elevated food intake and total distance traveled in 1 h,and decreased urine protein,anti-ds-DNA antibody levels,IL-17 concentration,and proportion of CCR6+CXCR5+Th17 cells(P＜0.01).Moreover,there was no statistically significant difference between the medium-dose JQZF group and the positive control group(P＞0.05).Anti-ds-DNA antibody and IL-17 concentration showed a positive correlation with the proportion of CCR6+CXCR5+Th17 cells(r=0.603,0.518,P＜0.001).Pathological morphology of kidney tissue showed significant improvement in the medium-dose JQZF group.Conclusion JQZF can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of SLE model mice,alleviate kidney damage,inhibit immune responses,and effectively reduce the secretion of IL-17 by CCR6+CXCR5+Th17 cells,thereby exerting therapeutic effects.
Keywords：lupus erythematosussystemicdrugsChinese herbalTh17 cellsinterleukin-17miceimmunomodulationkidney diseasesantibody formation
Publication Date：2025-08-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 1090-1096 )