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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Murine Model of Epicutaneously-Induced Immunomodulation
Published on: June 24, 2025
Suppressive effect of hochu-ekki-to on collagen induced arthritis in DBA1J mice
Le Xuan Hai1, Toshiaki Kogure, Atsushi Niizawa
1Department of Japanese Oriental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of hochu-ekki-to (HET) decoction on the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice.
Methods:
CIA was induced in male DBA/IJ mice by immunization with 2 injections of bovine type II collagen (CII). HET was orally administered at different doses and with different schedules. The incidence of arthritis, arthritis index, levels of anti-CII antibody, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and lymphocyte subsets were examined.
Results:
HET caused suppression of CIA development in a dose dependent fashion and exerted a suppressive effect on CIA when administered from the first CII immunization or from the onset of CIA, but not when administered for 2 weeks before CII immunization. HET inhibited the production of specific anti-CII antibody, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, and tended to normalize the proportions of cells in lymphocyte subsets.
Conclusion:
HET suppresses the development of CIA, and HET redistributes the population of lymphocytes in lymph node and blood and inhibits IL-6 and TNF-alpha secretion in CIA mice.

