Mechanism Study on Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules Reduce Inflammatory Damage in Severe Acute Pancreatitis Rats by Suppressing NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation / 中药新药与临床药理

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules on pancreatic tissue of rats with severe acute pancreatitis,and to observe its regulation on NLRP3 inflammasome activation.Methods Sixty-four SD rats were randomly divided into sham-surgery(SO)group,severe acute pancreatitis model(SAP)group,Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules(CH)group,and MCC950(NLRP3 inhibitor)group.Each group was further divided into 12-hour and 24-hour subgroups,with rats in each group.The SAP group,CH group,and MCC950 group were retrogradely injected with 3.5%sodium taurocholate(2 mL·kg-1)into the pancreatic ducts to establish SAP model.The MCC950 group was immediately intraperitoneally injected with MCC950(1 mg·mL-1)after model preparation.After awakening from anesthesia,the CH group was administrated by gavage with Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules solution(0.35 g·mL-1)once every 6 hours.Ascites,abdominal aortic blood,and pancreatic tissue were collected at 12 hours and 24 hours after SAP model construction.The serum amylase and lipase activities were detected using an automated biochemical analyzer.HE staining was used to observe pancreatic injury.Serum levels of IL-18 and IL-1β were detected by ELISA.The expressions of gene and proteins related to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome were analyzed by IHC,qRT-PCR and Western Blot.Results Compared with the SAP group,the pathological damage of pancreatic tissues in the CH and MCC950 groups was significantly reduced,and the pathological score was significantly reduced(P＜0.05).The levels of serum lipase,amylase,IL-18,and IL-1β were also significantly decreased(P＜0.05).After treatment with Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules or intraperitoneal injection of NLRP3 inhibitor,the positive expressions of NLRP3,ASC and Caspase-1 in pancreatic tissues,as well as the mRNA levels of NLRP3,ASC and Caspase-1,the protein levels of NLRP3,ASC,Pro-Caspase-1 and Caspase-1 were significantly reduced compared to the SAP group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Chaihuang Qingyi Huoxue Granules can inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome,reduce the mRNA and protein expressions of NLRP3,ASC and Caspase-1 in pancreatic tissues,and suppress the release of the downstream inflammatory factors IL-18 and IL-1β and alleviate pancreatitis damage in SAP model rats.