MI Guangxi, WANG Zhongxia, WANG Tianxiu, LIU Wanting, WANG Jie
Objective To observe the effects of Yupingfeng San on autophagy and inflammatory factors in allergic rhinitis (AR) model rats, and explore the potential mechanism of Yupingfeng San in improving AR. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal control group, an AR model group, a Yupingfeng San group (24 mg·kg-1), a ketotifen group (positive control, 0.9 mg·kg-1), and a Yupingfeng San (24 mg·kg-1) + rapamycin (autophagy inducer, 1 mg·kg-1) group, with 10 rats in each group. The normal control group was given 200 mg·kg-1 physiological saline, while the other groups established AR models using ovalbumin and aluminum hydroxide. Record the behavioral symptoms of rhinitis in AR rats and quantify the scores. Immunoblotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of Beclin1, an autophagy related protein, in rat nasal mucosa. ELISA was used to detect the levels of interferon-γ (INF-γ), interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-13 (IL-13), immunoglobulin E (IgE) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in nasal lavage fluid and serum of rats. Results Compared with the normal control group, the levels of IL-5, IL-13, IgE, and IL-4 in the nasal lavage fluid and serum of the AR model group rats were significantly increased (P<0.01), while the level of INF-γ was significantly decreased (P<0.01). Compared with the AR model group, the levels of IL-5, IL-13, IgE, and IL-4 in nasal lavage fluid and serum of rats in the Yupingfeng San group and Ketotifen group were significantly reduced (P<0.01), while the levels of INF-γ were significantly increased (P<0.01). Western blot results showed that compared with the normal control group, the AR model group showed a significant increase in the expression of autophagy related protein Beclin1 (P<0.05). Compared with the AR model group, the expression of Beclin1 protein was significantly reduced in the Yupingfeng San group and Ketotifen group (P<0.01). The immunofluorescence results showed that compared with the Yupingfeng San group, the Yupingfeng San + rapamycin group showed a significant increase in Beclin1 protein expression, a significant increase in IL-5, IL-13, IgE, and IL-4 levels in nasal lavage fluid and serum of rats (P<0.01), a significant decrease in INF-γ levels (P<0.01), and a significant increase in behavioral scores of rat rhinitis (P<0.01). Conclusions Yupingfeng San has good therapeutic effects on AR, and its potential mechanism is closely related to cellular autophagy.