Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common skin diseases, and is characterized by a chronic and relapsing inflammatory dermatitis with immunological disturbance, e.g., hyper-production of total and specific IgE. Patients with AD usually have a personal or familial history of other atopic diseases.1) Population studies suggest that in most countries AD affects 10-20% of all children at some time during childhood.2) Moreover, AD is a multifactorial disease, and its pathogenesis and etiology are not fully understood. 1)In acute AD lesions, cells expressing T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-5, are significantly increased, whereas delayed-type allergic reaction and Th1 immune response characterize the pathogenesis of chronic AD. 3)Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions, such as, chemical contact allergy, are usually regarded as cell-mediated immune responses, which are frequently attributed to T helper (Th) 1-type cells. 4) Moreover, dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) induced contact hypersensitivity is a T cell-mediated inflammatory skin reaction that is thought to be associated with the activation of type1 helper T cells. 5)NC/Nga mice are the most extensively studied animal model of AD. The NC/Nga strain originates from Japanese fancy mice, and was established as an inbred strain in 1957. NC/Nga mice have also been reported to develop AD-like eczematous skin lesions when kept in an air-uncontrolled conventional housing but not when maintained under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions.2) Clinical symptoms begin with itching, erythema, hemorrhage, scaling, dryness, and alopecia at age 8 weeks. Given the resemblance between these immunological alterations in NC/Nga mice and AD in humans, models based on these mice are of importance for the understanding and treatment of AD.2)The roots of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) are one of the most popular health-promoting herbs in East Asia, and have been used for more than 2000 years.6) The main constituents of AM roots are polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, amino acids, and trace elements. 7) Recently AM is reported that it enhanced the levels of IL-4 but reduced level of IFN-g secretion in TCR (T cell receptor) stimulated T cells.8) Additionally, AM in combination with other herbs, Hochu-ekki-to, was used to treat allergic diseases. 9-11)Hochu-ekki-to also known to suppressed dermatitis and serum IgE levels in NC/Nga mice. 9) However, Hochu-ekki-to contain many different constituents, it is difficult to identify the active components. Therefore, in this study, we examined whether AM suppresses AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice. MATERIALS AND METHODSMice Female NC/Nga mice, 8 weeks of age, were obtained from Orient Korea (Gyeonggi, Korea) and maintained under SPF conditions. Animals were housed in an air conditioned animal room at 25Ϯ1°C and a relative humidity (RH) of 40Ϯ5%, and fed a laboratory diet and water. Experiments conducted in accord with the guidelines issued by the Ethical Committee for Animal Welfare at KyungHee Univers...

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Objectives : We recently have reported that constituents of OMC-2010 have an immuno-modulatory effects via inhibiting tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-5. In this study, based on previous data, we investigated the effects of combinations with each OMC constituents on splenocyte cytotoxicity, cytokine productions, and ovalbumin (OVA) induced experimental allergic asthma. Methods : Mouse splenocytes were pre-treated with ethanol extract of constituents of Rehmannia glutinosa (RG), Pinellia ternata (PT), Schisandra chinensis (SC). We made 4 combinations using RG, PT, and SC (A;1:1:1, B;2:1:1, C;1:2:1, D;1:1:2). The cells were pretreated with A, B, C, or D for 1 h, then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 ㎍/ml) for 48 h. Then the cells were harvested for real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to detect cytokine productions. Then using effective combination from RG, PR and SC, we administrated the combination orally, then challenged with OVA to induce asthma. Then we analyzed the airway hyper-reactivity (AHR), lung histology and lung TNF-α and IL-5 mRNA. Results : A. B. C. and D did not showed significant cytotoxicity on splenocytes. Pre-treatment of A inhibited the expression of TNF-α and IL-5 significantly, but not B, C, and D. In experimental asthma, administration of A significantly inhibited the increase of AHR, lung damage, TNF-α and IL-5 expression. Conclusions : Theses results could suggest that inhibitory effects of the ideal combination with RG, PT and SC (1:1:1) could be applied to treatment of asthma and study of asthma mechanisms.

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