Dachengqi Decoction alleviates intestinal inflammation in ovalbumin-induced asthma by reducing group 2 innate lymphoid cells in a microbiota-dependent manner

Zirui Liu; Yalan Li; Na Li; Yongan Wang; Qiuyi Li; Dongyu Ge; Guiying Peng; Mengyu Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2023.01.003

Dachengqi Decoction alleviates intestinal inflammation in ovalbumin-induced asthma by reducing group 2 innate lymphoid cells in a microbiota-dependent manner

J Tradit Complement Med. 2023 Jan 6;13(2):183-192. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2023.01.003. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Zirui Liu¹, Yalan Li¹, Na Li¹, Yongan Wang¹, Qiuyi Li¹, Dongyu Ge², Guiying Peng¹, Mengyu Zhou³

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 102488, China.
² School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 102488, China.
³ Department of Dentistry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.

Abstract

Background and aim: Dachengqi Decoction (DCQD) as a classic traditional Chinese medicine has been reported to be effective in treating asthma, but its mechanism remains unknown. This study aimed to reveal the mechanisms of DCQD on the intestinal complications of asthma mediated by group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) and intestinal microbiota.

Experimental procedure: Ovalbumin (OVA) was used to construct asthmatic murine models. IgE, cytokines (e.g., IL-4, IL-5), fecal water content, colonic length, histopathologic appearance, and gut microbiota were evaluated in asthmatic mice treated with DCQD. Finally, we administered DCQD to antibiotic-treated asthmatic mice to measure the ILC2 in the small intestine and colon.

Results and conclusion: DCQD decreased pulmonary IgE, IL-4, and IL-5 levels in asthmatic mice. The fecal water content, the colonic length weight loss, and the epithelial damage of jejunum, ileum, and colon of asthmatic mice were ameliorated by DCQD. Meanwhile, DCQD greatly improved intestinal dysbiosis by enriching Allobaculum, Romboutsia and Turicibacter in the whole intestine, and Lactobacillus gasseri only in the colon. However, DCQD caused less abundant Faecalibaculum and Lactobacillus vaginalis in the small intestine of asthmatic mice. A higher ILC2 proportion in different gut segments of asthmatic mice was reversed by DCQD. Finally, significant correlations appeared between DCQD-mediated specific bacteria and cytokines (e.g., IL-4, IL-5) or ILC2. These findings indicate that DCQD alleviated the concurrent intestinal inflammation in OVA-induced asthma by decreasing the excessive accumulation of intestinal ILC2 in a microbiota-dependent manner across different gut locations.

Keywords: Asthma; Dachengqi Decoction; Gut microbiota; ILC2; Intestinal inflammation.