Objective To observe the effects of
Xinfeng Capsule (XFC) at different doses on lung function, Thl/Th2 cells, regulatory T cells (Treg) in
adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats. Methods Totally 84 rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e., the normal control group (NC) , the model group (M) , the
methotrexate (MTX) group, the Tripterygium
Glycosides Table (TGT) group, the low dose XFC (XFC- L) group, the medium dose XFC (XFC-M) group, the high dose XFC (XFC-H) group, 12 in each group. Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA; 0. 1 mL) was intradermally injected to all rats except those in the NC group from right rear paw to induce
inflammation. Medication was started from the 19th day after inflam- mation.
Normal saline was administered to rats in the NC group and the M group. Rats in the rest groups were correspondingly administered with MTX, TGT, XFC, respectively. Changes of each index were ob- served in all groups. Results (1) Compared with the NC group, rat paw swelling degree (E) ,
arthritis index (AI) , lung index (LI) , average expiratory flow in 1 second (FEV1/FVC%) , alveolitis integral, TNF- α, Th1/Th2 cells,
transforming growth factor-β₁ ( TGF-β₁ ) expression significantly increased in the M group (P <0. 01) ; forced vital capacity (FVC) , peak expiratory flow 25% of vital capacity (FEF25), peak expiratory flow 50% of vital capacity (FEF50), peak expiratory flow 75% of vital capacity (FEF75), the maximum mid-expiratory flow (MMF) , peak expiratory flow (PEF) , CD4 ⁺Treg, CD4⁺CD25 ⁺Treg,
IL-10, and Foxp3 expression significantly decreased in the M group (P <0. 01). (2) Compared with the M group,
body weight, FVC, FEF25, FEF50, FEF75, MMF, PEF,
IL-10, Treg, and Foxp3 expression increased in all treatment groups; E, Al, LI, FEV1/FVC%, TNF-α, Th1/Th2 cells, and TGF-β₁ expression decreased in all treatment groups (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). (3) Compared with the XFC-M group, LI, alveolitis integral, TNF- α, Th1/Th2 cells, and TGF-β1 increased; FVC, FEF25, FEF50, FEF75,
IL-10, CD4⁺Treg, CD4⁺CD25⁺ Treg, and Foxp3 decreased in other treatment groups (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Conclusions AA rats had local swollen paws and decreased lung function. XFC could significantly improve paw swelling and Al of AA rats, and improve lung function. It could reduce inflammatory reaction and
immune complexes on tis- sue and organ damage, improve joint and pulmonary symptoms possibly through promoting expressions of
IL-10, CD4⁺Treg, CD4⁺CD25⁺Treg, and Foxp3, and inhibiting TNF-α,Th1/Th2 cells, and TGF-β₁ ex- pression.