Study on the Effect of Huaier Water Extracts in Treating the Rat Model of Granulomatous Lobular Mastitis
[Objective]To explore the therapeutic effect of Huaier(Trametes robiniophila Murr.) water extracts on granulomatous lobular mastitis(GLM) rat by reducing inflammation levels.[Methods]Female SD rats were randomly divided into normal group,model group,Huaier group[Huaier water extracts 4.5 g/(kg·d)]and hormone group[prednisone acetate 0.0018 g/(kg·d)].The GLM model was induced with tissue homogenate mixture of GLM tissue and Freund's complete adjuvant.After 14 days of administration,the mammary glands of each group were observed;the inflammation index score of the rat mammary gland was evaluated by breast inflammation index score;pathological observation of breast tissue was performed after hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and the level of inflammatory factors in the rat serum was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) method;16S rRNA amplicon sequencing technique was used to determine the diversity and richness of intestinal flora,and the relative abundance of intestinal flora in each group.[Results]Compared with normal group,the rats in model group showed symptoms such as the red breast skin,obvious lumps and significantly increased breast inflammation index score(P<0.05).Pathological changes included the formation of granulomas centered on the breast lobules,with a large number of lymphocytes,plasma cells and other inflammatory cells infiltration,which confirmed the successful induction of GLM rat model.Compared with model group,the breast swelling was improved,and the breast inflammation index score of Huaier group and hormone group both decreased(P<0.05,P<0.05).And the level of inflammatory factors interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-17A(IL-17A) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in serum significantly decreased(P<0.05,P<0.05,P<0.05).It could alleviate the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the mammary gland tissue of model group.Significant alterations in the gut microbiota of GLM rat models were observed,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).After modeling,the abundances of Lactobacillales,Actinobacteria,Bifidobacteriales and Coriobacteriia were downregulated,while those of Caulobacterales and Desulfobacterota were upregulated within the gut microbiota.After the intervention with Huaier water extracts,the abundances of Clostridia were downregulated,while those of Bacteroidetes and Rhodospirillales were upregulated in the gut microbiota of GLM model rats.[Conclusion]Huaier water extracts could alleviate the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the mammary gland tissue of GLM model rats;reduce the proliferation of epithelial cells and the formation of inflammatory granuloma;decrease the level of inflammatory cytokines in the serum of GLM rat model and adjust the intestinal flora of GLM rat models,which may be related to its ability to improve the immunity and relieve the inflammatory response.
immune imbalancegranulomatous lobular mastitisHuaier(Trametes robiniophila Murr.)Huaier water extractsanimal model of granulomatous lobular mastitisintestinal florainflammation