Immunomodulatory effects of Longdan Xiegan Tang on CD4+/CD8+ T cells and associated inflammatory cytokines in rats with experimental autoimmune uveitis

Tang,Kai; Guo,Dadong; Zhang,Lian; Guo,Junguo; Zheng,Fengming; Si,Junkang; Bi,Hongsheng

doi:10.3892/mmr.2016.5558

Immunomodulatory effects of Longdan Xiegan Tang on CD4+/CD8+ T cells and associated inflammatory cytokines in rats with experimental autoimmune uveitis

Authors:
- Kai Tang
- Dadong Guo
- Lian Zhang
- Junguo Guo
- Fengming Zheng
- Junkang Si
- Hongsheng Bi
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Affiliations: Afﬁliated Eye Hospital, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250002, P.R. China, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Therapy of Ocular Diseases, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250002, P.R. China, Department of Ophthalmology, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250002, P.R. China, The First Clinical College, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi 530001, P.R. China
Published online on: July 27, 2016 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2016.5558
Pages: 2746-2754

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Abstract

Longdan Xiegan Tang (LXT) is a mixture of herbal extracts commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine that may exert immunomodulatory effects for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. However, the detailed mechanisms that mediate the actions of LXT are unclear. The present study induced an experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model in Lewis rats via injection of IRBP1177‑1191 emulsion. The model was used to investigate the effects of LXT on EAU rats and assess the efficacy of LXT by measuring clinical manifestations and histopathological changes caused by EAU. Additionally, alterations in the ratio of CD4+/CD8+‑T cells were determined by flow cytometry, and the expression of interferon (IFN)‑γ, interleukin (IL)‑17, IL‑10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α were measured using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay analysis. The results of the present study demonstrate that LXT can efficiently alleviate the symptoms of EAU, inhibit the differentiation of uveitogenic CD4+ T cells and reduce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including IFN‑γ, IL‑17 and TNF‑α. Furthermore, LXT promotes the production of IL‑10 and accelerates the recovery of EAU, indicating that the immunomodulatory effects of LXT may potentially be used for the treatment of uveitis.

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