Objective

To investigate the effects of Qinggan Huoxue Recipe (QGHXR), a compound Chinese herbal medicine, and its decomposed formulas Qinggan Recipe (QGR) and Huoxue Recipe (HXR) on expressions of CD14, Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in Kupffer cells.

Methods

The isolated primary rat Kupffer cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for a certain period of time, a series of concentrations of drug-containing serums of QGHXR and its decomposed formulas were added, the expressions of NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), CD14, and TLR4 of the Kupffer cells were detected in different culture conditions by using Western blot, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and ELISA methods respectively.

Results

QGR could down-regulate the expression of membrane receptor CD14, but the expression of NF-κB and TNF-α were not significantly decreased after QGR treatment. HXR could down-regulate the expression of membrane receptor TLR4 and inhibit the expressions of NF-κB and TNF-α. QGHXR could down regulate the expressions of membrane receptors CD14 and TLR4 and inhibit the expressions of NF-κB and TNF-α.

Conclusion

QGHXR can protect liver cells by down regulating the expressions of CD14, TLR4 and NF-κB and inhibiting TNF-α expression.

Key words: Kupffer cells, Signal transduction, Qinggan Huoxue Recipe, Toll like receptor 4