JZUS - Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE

Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B 2017 Vol.18 No.6 P.453-461

Evaluation of potential anti-toxoplasmosis efficiency of combined traditional herbs in a mouse model

Author(s): Xun-hui Zhuo, Hong-chao Sun, Bin Huang, Hai-jie Yu, Ying Shan, Ai-fang Du
Affiliation(s): Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine & Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; more
Corresponding email(s): afdu@zju.edu.cn
Key Words: Toxoplasma gondii, Chinese herbs, Real-time PCR, Survival, Protection

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Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide spread protozoan and is able to infect almost all warm-blood animals. No effective drugs are available clinically on toxoplasmosis. Chinese traditional herbal medicines have provided remedies for many health problems. There exists a possibility that chinese herbs may provide protection against T. gondii. This work aims to assess the protective efficacy of combined chinese herbs against T. gondii. We screened five herbal medicines that have different pharmacological effects and combined them into a prescription according to the traditional Chinese medicine compatibility principle. The drug potential and protective efficacy were evaluated through a mouse model by determining the survival time, the parasite load in blood and tissues, the change of cell proportions in blood and histological detection. The results showed that the survival time of mice in the 500 mg chinese herbs group and sulfadiazine group was significantly longer than that of the PBS control group. Also the parasite load in blood and tissues of 500 mg chinese herbs and sulfadiazine groups was significantly lower than that of PBS group at 7 days post infection (dpi), which was in accordance with the result of histological detection. Monocyte and neutrophil of infected mice were remarkably increased while lymphocyte was dramatically decreased compared to that of blank group at 7 dpi. The results demonstrated that the 500 mg dosage of our chinese herbs could slow down the replication of T. gondii and prolong the survival time of mice and could be considered as possible candidate drug against toxoplasmosis.

小鼠模型中研究复方中草药抗弓形虫感染的作用

目的：评估复方中草药对小鼠抗弓形虫的保护力，以期找到新型防治弓形虫病的药物。
创新点：首次在小鼠模型中研究威灵仙、芜荑、白术、刘寄奴和甘草组成的复方中草药的抗弓形虫功效，并发现500 mg的药物能提供较好的保护力。
方法：将ICR雌性小鼠随机分为7组：空白组不攻虫不给药；PBS组攻虫；药物对照组攻虫并口服磺胺嘧啶10 mg/d；实验组攻虫并分别灌胃300、400、500和600 mg/d中药煎剂；攻虫组每只小鼠腹腔注射弓形虫RH株1000个。每日观察各组小鼠死亡情况，在感染后3和7 d采集抗凝血检测血常规，并采集血液、肝、脾和肺组织，提取基因组DNA，通过绝对荧光定量PCR检测各组织样品中的虫荷量，采集感染后7 d的肝、肺和脾组织，制作组织切片，通过H & E染色观察组织病变情况。
结论：试验结果表明，500 mg中药组及磺胺嘧啶药物对照组的小鼠显著地延长了存活时间（图1），且这两组小鼠组织及血液中的虫荷数显著低于其他组（图2），这与小鼠的肝、肺和脾组织病理染色结果一致（图4）。另外，与300、400和600 mg中药处理组相比，500 mg处理组小鼠的单核细胞和淋巴细胞比例均较低（图3），这在一定程度上阻碍了弓形虫在血细胞中的传播。综上所述，500 mg中草药处理组能降低弓形虫的胞内增殖速率，延长小鼠的存活时间，证明该浓度的复方中药具有一定的抗弓形虫效果。

关键词：弓形虫；中草药；荧光定量PCR；存活率

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