Wheat grain moxibustion relieves cyclophosphamide-induced mouse spleen injury via IκBα
This study was designed to investigate the effects of wheat grain moxibustion on the immune function of mice immunosuppressed by cyclophosphamide,and to delve into the potential mechanisms by analyzing factors related to NF-κB signaling pathway.Sixty SPF-grade ICR mice were randomly allocated into four groups:blank group,model group,traditional Chinese medicine group and wheat grain moxibustion group,with 15 mice in each group.Immunosuppression was induced in mice of the model,traditional Chinese medicine and wheat grain moxibustion groups by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide at 80 mg/kg daily for three days,while mice of the blank group received an equivalent volume of saline.The traditional Chinese medicine group was treated with oral administration of Zhēn Qí Fú Zhèng granules,and the wheat grain moxibustion group was treated with wheat grain moxibustion at"Da Zhui,"bilateral"Zu San Li,"and bilateral"San Yin Jiao"once a day for seven consecutive days.After corresponding treatment,spleens were harvested from the mice of different groups for pathological examination,and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was utilized to measure the serum levels of IL-2,IL-4,TNF-α and IFN-γ.Additionally,Western blot analysis was conducted to assess the protein expression levels of IκBα and P-IκBα in spleen tissue.Compared with the blank group,mice in the model group exhibited poorer general conditions,significantly reduced white blood cell(WBC)count(P＜0.01),extensive damage in spleen tissue,significant decreases in serum IL-4 and IL-2 concentrations,increases in TNF-α and IFN-γ levels(P＜0.01),lower level of P-IκBα protein in spleen tissue(P＜0.01),and higher level of IκBα protein(P＜0.01).These changes mentioned above were reversed in mice of both the wheat grain moxibustion group and the traditional Chinese medicine group(P＜0.01).Compared to the traditional Chinese medicine group,on the last day of treatment,the wheat grain moxibustion group showed slightly higher WBC counts(P＜0.05),better tissue repair,and lower levels of IFN-γ(P＜0.01).In conclusion,wheat grain moxibustion can affect the activity of NF-κB signaling pathway by regulating the relative expression of IκBα and P-IκBα,and then regulate the immune response of the body,thus play a role in alleviating the immunosuppression caused by cyclophosphamide.
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