Mechanism of Yiguanjian in regulating Th17/Treg balance for treating dry eye in rats.
10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20250624.301
- Author:
Xiao-Long ZHANG
1
;
Yuan ZHONG
1
;
Qing-Hua PENG
1
;
Jun PENG
2
Author Information
1. Hunan University of Chinese Medicine Changsha 410208, China the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine Changsha 410007, China.
2. the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine Changsha 410007, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Th17/Treg balance;
Yiguanjian;
dry eye;
inflammation
- MeSH:
Animals;
Rats;
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunology*;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage*;
Th17 Cells/immunology*;
Male;
Rats, Sprague-Dawley;
Dry Eye Syndromes/genetics*;
Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1, Group F, Member 3/immunology*;
Lacrimal Apparatus/immunology*;
Humans;
STAT3 Transcription Factor/immunology*
- From:
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica
2025;50(16):4668-4678
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
This study investigated the therapeutic effects of Yiguanjian on dry eye in rats and its mechanisms involving the T helper cell 17(Th17)/regulatory T cell(Treg) balance. The rat model of dry eye was established by administrating 0.2% benzalkonium chloride solution in eye drops. After successful modeling, the rats were treated with Yiguanjian for 4 consecutive weeks. The Schirmer test was carried out to assess the lacrimal gland function, corneal fluorescence staining to detect corneal injury, hematoxylin-eosin staining to observe corneal histopathology, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure serum levels of interleukin(IL)-6, IL-8, IL-17A, IL-21, and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), RT-qPCR to analyze mRNA levels of retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma t(RORγt) and forkhead box protein p3(Foxp3) in the corneal tissue, immunofluorescence double staining to evaluate RORγt and Foxp3 expression in the lacrimal gland tissue, and Western blot to quantify the protein levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3), phosphorylated STAT3(p-STAT3), Janus kinase 2(Jak2), phosphorylated Jak2(p-Jak2), RORγt, and Foxp3 in the corneal tissue. The results demonstrated that Yiguanjian increased tear secretion(P<0.01), alleviated corneal damage and pathological changes, and lowered the serum levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-17A, IL-21, and TNF-α(P<0.05) in model rats. Additionally, Yiguanjian decreased the ratio of RORγt to Foxp3 in the corneal and lacrimal gland tissue(P<0.01), downregulated the protein levels of STAT3, Jak2, and RORγt(P<0.05), upregulated the protein level of Foxp3(P<0.05), and inhibited phosphorylation of STAT3 and Jak2(P<0.01). These findings indicate that Yiguanjian ameliorates ocular surface dysfunction in dry eye rats by restoring Th17/Treg balance in the corneal and lacrimal gland tissue and suppressing systemic inflammatory cytokine release, thus mitigating ocular surface inflammation.
