Majie Pingchuan Cataplasm Regulates Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin in Rats with Asthma

Abstract As a new type of external preparations, cataplasm is widely used in clinical practice. In this study, we aimed to explore the efficacy and mechanism of Majie Pingchuan Cataplasm (MJPC) on asthma. By treating the brown-norway asthmatic rats with MJPC, it was found that the incubation period was significantly longer compared with rats injected with dexamethasone (P<0.05); in addition, the airway smooth muscle spasm was relieved compared with the asthmatic rats (P<0.05); it was observed that the number of inflammatory cells (such as eosinophils and neutrophils) was reduced both in the blood and lung tissue (P<0.05). The efficacy of MJPC was also explored in vitro. Components of MJPC had an antagonistic effect on the tracheal smooth muscle contraction of guinea pigs induced with histamine phosphate and acetylcholine chloride. It has been proven that thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and asthma. So we hypothesized that TSLP may be an important regulator of immune system in the skin and lung. In this study, TSLP levels in different tissues were detected to explore the mechanism of MJPC in the treatment of asthma. The results showed that expressions of TSLP in the lung tissue, skin, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum were significant lower in the MJPC group compared with the model group (P<0.05). Our study confirmed that MJPC has a therapeutic effect on asthma in rats, it can not only play a role in blood after percutaneous absorption, but also regulate the skin immune system to achieve the treatment of asthma by affecting the expression of TSLP in local skin.