Wenyang Huazhuo Tuihuang Formula Inhibits the Th17/Treg Cell Imbalance and Protects against Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure

Xiufeng Wang; Yunqing Zhong; Rongzhen Zhang; Yueqiao Chen; Minggang Wang; Chao Lv; Dewen Mao

doi:10.1155/2022/5652172

Wenyang Huazhuo Tuihuang Formula Inhibits the Th17/Treg Cell Imbalance and Protects against Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Mar 30:2022:5652172. doi: 10.1155/2022/5652172. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiufeng Wang¹, Yunqing Zhong², Rongzhen Zhang¹, Yueqiao Chen¹, Minggang Wang¹, Chao Lv¹, Dewen Mao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Liver Disease Area 1, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530201, China.
² Department of Pulmonary Disease, Guangxi International Zhuang Medicine Hospital, Nanning, China.

Abstract

Objective: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a group of chronic liver diseases and caused by acute internal and external liver injury. Wenyang Huazhuo Tuihuang (WYHZTH) formula had a good clinical effect on promoting the resolution of jaundice. The aim of this study is to further investigate the mechanism of the WYHZTH formula in the ACLF rat model.

Methods: The ACLF rat model was constructed by combining human serum albumin with LPS and D-gal. WYHZTH was used to intervene and treat. The cytokines IL-17, IL-23, IL-10, and TGF-β were detected by ELISA and fluorescence-quantitative PCR. Flow cytometry was used to detect the percentage of Th17 and Treg cells in the peripheral blood and liver tissues of each group of rats. The pathological changes in the liver tissue were detected by hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy.

Results: Compared with the ACLF group, the WYHZTH formula and Thy significantly decreased the levels of ALT, AST, and CHE in the ACLF group. After drug intervention, apoptosis was significantly reduced. The PCNA expression decreased in the ACLF model group but increased in the WYHZTH or Thy group. Under transmission electron microscope, hepatocytes in the ACLF group showed obvious necrosis. After drug intervention, hepatocyte necrosis was reduced with most of the structure returning to normal.

Conclusion: This present study demonstrated that WYHZTH formula may protect against acute-on-chronic liver failure, which may be related to the inhibition of Th17/Treg cell imbalance.