Macmoondongtang modulates Th1-/Th2-related cytokines and alleviates asthma in a murine model

Abstract

ObjectiveMacmoondongtang has been used as a traditional medicine to treat pulmonary disease in Korea. However, the mechanism underlying its therapeutic effect has yet to be reported. In the present study, the role of macmoondongtang as a respiratory medicine, especially as an anti-asthmatic agent, has been attributed to the down-regulation of interleukin (IL)-4 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α.Materials & methodsBALB/c mice were divided into five groups: control, asthma-induced control, dexamethasone treatment, treatment with 150 mg/kg macmoondongtang, and treatment with 1500 mg/kg macmoondongtang. To evaluate the anti-asthmatic effect of macmoondongtang, we investigated its suppressive or inhibitory effects against typical asthmatic changes such as differential cell count in bronchioalveolar fluid (BALF), serum IgE levels, lung morphology, expression of Th1/Th2 cell transcription factors such as T-bet and GATA-3, and Th1-/Th2-/Th17-related cytokines such as interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-12p40, IL-4, -5, -13, TNF-α, and IL-6. The active ingredients in macmoondongtang were further analyzed.ResultsMacmoondongtang treatment down-regulated serum IgE level, a very important marker of hyper-responsiveness. It reversed typical morphological changes such as mucous hypersecretion, lung epithelial cell hyperplasia, and inflammatory cell infiltration near bronchioalveolar space and veins. Macmoondongtang significantly decreased neutrophil count in BALF, as well as reduced T-bet, IFN-γ, and TNF-α expression in the lung. It also showed a dose-dependent control of inflammatory cells in BALF, controlled the expression of IL-12, IL-4, and IL-5 genes in the lung, and the protein expression of IL12p40, GATA-3, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. The component analysis revealed glycyrrhizin and liquiritin as the active ingredients.ConclusionsMacmoondongtang treatment alleviates asthma symptoms and modulate the Th1-/Th2- related cytokines. Glycyrrhizin and liquiritin could be the major the active therapeutic components.

Korean Red Ginseng affects ovalbumin-induced asthma by modulating IL-12, IL-4, and IL-6 levels and the NF-κB/COX-2 and PGE2 pathways

“…Drugs for asthma treatment have a lot of adverse effects such as growth retardation [ 22 ], neurological disorders (e.g., catatonia, lack of concentration, and insomnia), and physiological disorders (e.g., immunosuppression, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and osteoporosis) [ 23 ]. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to identify safer and more effective anti-asthma drugs [ 4 , 8 , 13 , 17 , 18 , 28 ]. Korean Red Ginseng is known to affect various aspects of physiology, such as immunity [ 25 ], circulation [ 26 ], and inflammation [ 27 ], and diseases, such as allergy [ 28 ], cancer [ 29 ], metabolic diseases [ 30 ], and neurodegenerative diseases [ 31 ].…”

“…Korean Red Ginseng is known to affect various aspects of physiology, such as immunity [ 25 ], circulation [ 26 ], and inflammation [ 27 ], and diseases, such as allergy [ 28 ], cancer [ 29 ], metabolic diseases [ 30 ], and neurodegenerative diseases [ 31 ]. In asthma patient severe airway blockage was observed and this symptom was caused by airway remodeling which is related with epithelial cell and goblet cell hyperplasia, mucous hypersecretion by goblet cells, etc [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…The main symptoms of asthma are very diverse; however, they are always associated with the pulmonary system and typically range from simple dyspnea, such as wheezing, irregular breathing, or coughing, to apnea [ 2 ], which, in severe cases, may be fatal. Airflow obstruction is associated with morphological changes such as hypersecretion of mucous in bronchial duct, hyperplasia of epithelial cell in bronchial duct, infiltration of inflammation-related cells near bronchioalveolar ducts and vessels, and airway remodeling [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Single Nucleotide and Copy-Number Variants in IL4 and IL13 Are Not Associated with Asthma Susceptibility or Inflammatory Markers: A Case-Control Study in a Mexican-Mestizo Population

“…Regarding pro-inflammatory cytokines, we did not find significant differences in IL-4 nor IL-13 levels. IL-4 is a cytokine related to the polarization of inflammatory profile to Th2 in lymphocytes; it is produced mainly by eosinophils, basophils, and mast cells [22,89]. IL-13 is produced by T-cells that accomplish function as promote cell growth and B-cells differentiation [20,21].…”

Glycyrrhizin: An alternative drug for the treatment of COVID-19 infection and the associated respiratory syndrome?

“…This is the cases of the GLRcontaining Siji-kangbingdu herbal mixture, Maxing Shigan decoction and Lianhua-Qingwen capsules, used in China to treat upper respiratory infections (Jia et al, 2015;Yao et al, 2019). It is also the case for the GLR-containing traditional medicine Macmoondongtang used to treat pulmonary disease in Korea (Lee, Kang, Bok, Cho, & Park, 2019). Second, a clinical study performed in Japan in 2002 among military patients treated for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) has shown that GLR therapy was associated with a shorter hospitalization, lower-grade fever and lower cost of therapy compared with controls.…”