ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of Guizhi Jia Longgu Mulitang on the expression difference of interleukin-10 （IL-10） and tumor necrosis factor -α （TNF-α） in related organs of insomnia rats with sensory dysfunction dominated by lung and study the mechanism of Guizhi Jia Longgu Mulitang in improving insomnia. MethodSD rats were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， western medicine group， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） group， with 10 rats in each group. The rats were deprived of sleep by shallow water environment method in a long platform， and the modeling lasted for 42 d. The blank group and model group were given 0.05 mL·kg-1 normal saline by gavage， and the western medicine group and TCM group were given drugs during modeling. To be specific， the western medicine group was given 0.105 mg·kg-1 dexzopiclone tablet by gavage， while the TCM group was given 7 600 mg·kg-1 Guizhi Jia Longgu Mulitang by gavage， both lasting for 28 days. After successful modeling， the Morris water maze experiment was performed on the 42nd day to detect the motion and spatial memory ability of rats. The levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The protein expression of IL-10 and TNF-α in the lung and brain tissue of rats was detected by Western blot. The levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in the lung and brain tissue of rats were detected by immunohistochemistry. ResultCompared with the blank group， the sleep stages non-rapid eye movement ( NREM ) and rapid eye movement ( REM ) of the model group were significantly shortened （P<0.5， P<0.01）， and the wake stage was significantly increased （P<0.01）. The total time and distance of platform exploration were significantly increased （P<0.01）. In the target quadrant （the third quadrant）， the percentage of exploration time and the times of crossing the platform were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. ELISA results showed that the serum IL-10 level was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and TNF-α level was significantly increased （P<0.01）. The results of Western blot showed that the protein expression of IL-10 in brain and lung tissue of rats was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the protein expression of TNF-α was significantly increased （P<0.01）. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of IL-10 in the brain and lung tissue of rats was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and that of TNF-α was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the NREM stage and REM stage of the western medicine group and the TCM group were significantly increased （P<0.5， P<0.01）， and the wake stage was shortened （P<0.5）. The total time and distance of platform exploration were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. In the target quadrant （the third quadrant）， the percentage of exploration time and the times of crossing the platform were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The serum IL-10 level was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the serum TNF-α level was significantly decreased according to the ELISA results （P<0.01）. The results of Western blot showed that the protein expression of IL-10 in brain tissue and lung tissue was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the protein expression of TNF-α was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of IL-10 in brain tissue and lung tissue was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the expression of TNF-α was significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionGuizhi Jia Longgu Mulitang can improve the expression of IL-10 and TNF-α in brain and lung tissue of insomnia rats with sensory dysfunction dominated by lung， prolong sleep time， and then improve insomnia. The mechanism may be related to improving the expression level of inflammatory factors.