Winyanghuayin Decoction and Xiaoqinglong Decoction Treatment Airway Inflammation of Cold Asthma Through PI3K-mTOR Signal Pathway

Abstract Background: Airway inflammation plays a pivotal role in cold asthma. Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction can significantly improve airway inflammation. The aim of the present study was to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction on OVA-induced cold asthma in rat and compare the effects of Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction for treatment of cold asthma ratsMethods: The cold asthma rat model was induced by OVA and ice water swim stress, treated with Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction respectively. The pulmonary function of asthmatic rats was detected by MIR Spirolab; The pathological changes of lung tissue were observed by HE staining; The autophagy in the lung of rats were observed by transmission electron microscopy; The eosinophils, lymphocytes, macrophages and total cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted under light microscope. The expression of IL-10\IL-13\TNF-α and TGF-β1 in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); The protein level of LC3-II\I, ATG, PI3K and mTOR expression in lung tissues were detected by Western blot; Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detected the expression of autophagy gene ATG3\ATG5\ATG7 and ATG12.Results: Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction can alleviate airway inflammation and improve airway hyper-responsiveness, significantly increased the level of autophagy in lung tissue and decreased the protein level of PI3K and mTOR in lung tissue of cold asthma rats. Winyanghuayin decoction have better regulation ability on autophagy and PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway.Conclusion: Winyanghuayin decoction and Xiaoqinglong decoction may alleviate the airway inflammation symptoms by enhancing autophagy in lung tissue dependent on the PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway. Winyanghuayin decoction was more effective than Xiaoqinglong decoction for treatment of cold asthma.