Affiliation:
1. Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Provincial Second Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
2. Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
Abstract
Anzi Heji (AZHJ) is a traditional Chinese medicine compound prepared for long-term treatment of Anticardiolipin Antibody (ACA)-positive abortion, with small side effects and definite curative effect. Abortion was reported to be related to DNMT1, a methylation transferase regulated by JAK2 pathway, so this study aimed to explore whether AZHJ treated ACA-positive abortion by regulating the DNMT1. Cell proliferation estimation employed Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry. Human β2-glycoprotein I (GPI) was used as an inducer to establish ACA-positive mice model. Western blot was applied to examine the expressions of DNMT1, FOXP3, IL-6, and JAK/STAT3 pathway-related proteins. ACA titers and IL-6 levels in peripheral blood were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Placental tissue damage was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Based on the findings from experiments, AZHJ could significantly inhibit apoptosis and regulate the proliferation activity of HTR-8/SVneo cells. AZHJ treatment reduced the expression levels of DNMT1, FOXP3, IL-6, and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways-related proteins in HTR-8/SVneo cells and maternal–fetal interface (uterine decidua and placenta), and the titer of serum ACA was also significantly decreased. In addition, AZHJ effectively alleviated placental tissue damage caused by ACA-positive abortion compared with model group. To sum up, AZHJ may play a therapeutic role by inhibiting DNMT1 activation through Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway, and then promoting FOXP3 expression in maternal–fetal interface of pregnant mice, thereby improving immune tolerance at the maternal–fetal interface, preventing and treating ACA-positive abortion.
Subject
Complementary and alternative medicine,Plant Science,Drug Discovery,Pharmacology,General Medicine