Experimental Study On Mouse Model For Scleroderma Treated By Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine And Western Medicine

Objectives: To investigate the effect and mechanism of mouse model ofscleroderma treated by integrated traditional Chinese medicine and westernmedicine, analyze the correlation to the content of TGF-### and the level ofCTGF.Materials and Methods:1.Sixty 6-week-old female Balb/c mice were randomly divided into model group and control group. The model mice were subcutaneously injected on the back with 0.1 ml bleomycin (BLM) of 400μg/ml daily for 4 weeks,while the controls were jnjected with 0.1 ml PBS in the same manner.Then,the specimens of skin and lung were colletcted for histological examination, measurement of dermis thickness, detection of the integrated optical density (IOD) of collagen fibers by VG stanning, determination of IOD of TGF-βin the skin lesions by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining.2.The models were randomly divided into four groups, model controls, western medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese-western medicine, which administered with different medicine for 30 days. Then, the specimens of skin and lung were colletcted to histological examination,measurement of dermis thickness, detection of the IOD of collagen fibers and TGF-βin the skin lesions, The collagenic quantity and serum CTGF were determined by ELISA. The correlation of TGF-βand CTGF was analyzed.Results:1.In the groups of model and control, the thickness of dermis (μm) were602.20±28.98, 286.80±32.79, the IOD of collagen fibers tissue were 24205.81±2045.99, 11533.49±1651.55, the IOD of TGF-βwere 7892.33±255.98, 3018.29±208.66, the thickness of dermis was markedly thickened (P <0.05), the IOD of collagen fibers and TGF-βwere obviously increased (P < 0.05).2. In the groups of model control, western medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese-western medicine, the thickness of dermis(μm) were 618.33±31.25, 459.33±34.25,484.66±42.98,423.22±37.26, the IOD of collagen fibers were 24746.41±2548.21,18545.98±1683.31,19317.37±1553.28, 7317.02±1426.39, the collagenic quantity (μg/ml) were 6905.62±241.16, 5135.29±302.52, 5461.36±395.54, 4970.29±338.96, the level of CTGF (pg/ml) were 564.44±56.31,416.11±63.77, 427.78±53.33, 361.67?1.68, the IOD of TGF-βwere 7996.96±286.87, 6161.27±399.62, 6178.91±403.04, 5632.01±331.62. Compared with the model controls, the groups treated by drugs showed atendency to ameliorate the thickened dermis, the collagenic quantity, the levelof CTGF of serum and the IOD of TGF-βall markedly decreased (P < 0.05).The direct correlation between the content of TGF-βand CTGF was found (P< 0.05).Conclusion: The animal model of scleroderma can be successfully established in Balb/c mouse with BLM. Treatment with Chinese-western medicine had the role of ameliorating the skin and preventing the collagen fibers hyperplasy, which is better than treated by western medicine or Chinese medicine alone. The mechanism of action may be realized through these links as follows: decreased collagenic quantity and level of CTGF, inhibited the expression of TGF-β.