Effects of dexamethasone and Salvia miltiorrhizae on the small intestine and immune organs of rats with severe acute pancreatitis.

To observe the protecting effects and mechanisms of Dexamethasone and Salviae miltiorrhizae on intestinal mucosa and immune organs (spleen, thymus and lymph node) in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The rats were randomly divided into sham-operated, model control, Dexamethasone treated group and Salviae miltiorrhizae treated group. At 3, 6 and 12 h after operation, the mortality rate, pathological changes of intestinal mucosa and immune organs as well as the contents of serum PAF, IL-1 beta and sIL-2R were observed, respectively. The mortality rate and the contents of PAF (at 3 and 6 h), IL-1 beta (at all time points) and sIL-2R (at 3 and 6 h) as well as the pathological scores of thymus (at all time points) and spleen (at 3 h) in Dexamethasone treated group were significantly lower than those in model control groups (P < 0.05). The contents of PAF (at 3 and 12 h), IL-1 beta (at 6 and 12 h) and sIL-2R (at 3 and 6 h) as well as the pathological scores of thymus (at all time points) and spleen (at 3 and 12 h) in Salviae miltiorrhizae treated group were markedly lower than those in model control groups (P < 0.05). Since both Dexamethasone and Salvia miltiorrhizae can reduce the contents of serum PAF, sIL-2R and IL-1 beta, mitigate the pathological changes in the small intestine, spleen and thymus and reduce the mortality rate of SAP rats, they show good therapeutic effects on SAP rats.

Baicalin protects thymus of rats with severe acute pancreatitis.

To study the protective role of Baicalin on rats thymus with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The SAP rats were randomly assigned to the model control, Baicalin treated and Octreotide treated groups. Normal rats were assigned to the sham-operated group. The rat survival rates, pathological changes of thymus, apoptotic indexes and expression levels of NF-kappaB, Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3 and P-selectin of all groups were observed and recorded at 3, 6 and 12 h after operation, respectively. Rat survival rates were significantly higher in both Baicalin- and Octreotide-treated groups than those in the model control group at 12 h (P < 0.05). The thymus pathological score was significantly lower in Baicalin treated group than in control group at 3 and 12 h (P < 0.05). The expression of NF-kappaB, Bax and Bcl-2 in thymus tissue was negative in all groups. At 3 h after operation, the staining intensity, positive staining rate and intensity of Caspase-3 protein in the thymuses of the Baicalin treated group were significantly higher than those in the model control group (P < 0.01). At different time points after operation, no marked difference was observed in the staining intensity of P-selectin protein between the Baicalin treated group and the model control group (P > 0.05). At 6 h after operation, the positive staining rate and intensity of P-selectin protein in the Baicalin treated group was significantly lower than those in the model control group (P < 0.05). The apoptotic indexes were significantly higher in treated group than in model control group at 6 h (P < 0.05). Baicalin has a protective role on the thymus of SAP rats, and its effect of decreasing inflammatory mediators level in blood, inhibiting P-selectin expression and inducing apoptosis of thymocytes may involve in the mechanism of its protective role.

Influence of Salvia miltiorrhizae on the mesenteric lymph node of rats with severe acute pancreatitis or obstructive jaundice.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of salvia miltiorrhizae injection on inflammatory mediator levels and mesenteric lymph nodes in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and obstructive jaundice (OJ) rats and explore the protective mechanism of salvia miltiorrhizae on the lymph nodes of these rats. METHODS: A total of 288 rats were used in SAP-associated and OJ-associated experiments. The rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, model control group, and treated group. At various time points after operation, the pathological changes in mesenteric lymph nodes of rats in each group were observed, respectively. RESULTS: The pathological severity scores in lymph nodes of SAP rats in treated group were significantly lower than those in model control group (P < .05) while the pathological changes in lymph nodes of OJ rats in treated group also showed varying degrees of mitigation. CONCLUSION: Salvia miltiorrhizae can exert protective effects on the lymph nodes of SAP or OJ rats via a mechanism that is associated with reducing the contents of inflammatory mediators in blood.