To Study the Effect and Mechanisms of Ding Chuan Tang on Prenatal or Neonatal Allergen Exposure-Induced Asthmatic Mice

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in the treatment of airway diseases, including bronchial asthma. However, solid scientific evidence with the use of TCM has not been available, particularly for the concerns related to mechanisms of the herbal drugs. Our preliminary data indicate that the Din Chuan Tang (DCT, a Chinese herb decoction) improved the airway hypersensitiveness and in a double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical trial. The total clinical and medication reduced parameters showed improvement in the DCT group of patients at the ages of 8-15 years old. However, it is not ethically acceptable to analyze the effect or potential mechanisms of DCT with patients. Alternatively, asthmatic animal model can be used to investigate the immune responses or effective mechanisms of TCM. We have established chicken ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized murine model. DCT was tested and shown to decrease asthmatic symptoms, including airway resistance, eosinophil infiltration, and serum or OVA-specific IgE level. With the increased prevalence of childhood asthma in the last decade, we would like to study the potential mechanism of DCT on mice with prenatal or neonatal exposure to allergen. We have also established the models with in utero injection or intraperitoneal injection of 2-day old mice with OVA. These models demonstrated stronger asthmatic responses to following inhaling challenge of OVA when the mice are 8-week old. More sever airway fibrosis was observed in these two models. Since Th17 activity was correlated with airway fibrosis in chronic asthma and the Notch signal pathway played an important role of Th2 development, we would like to evaluate whether DCT affect the activity of Th17, Notch signal pathway, or the T-cell activation ability of dendritic cells. This will allow us to link the potential mechanisms of DCT on young children. The results will also provide the scientific significance at molecular level for TCM.

Project ID:PC10301-0913
External Project ID:NSC101-2320-B182-020-MY3