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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Murine Model of Allergen Induced Asthma
Published on: May 14, 2012
Ligustrazine corrects Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 imbalance in a mouse asthma model
Ning-fei Ji1, Yu-chun Xie2, Ming-shun Zhang3
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China; Department of Geriatrics, Jiangsu Province Geriatric Hospital, Nanjing 210024, China.
Abstract:
Asthma is an inflammatory disease closely associated with activated T cells in the lung. Imbalances in Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 have been found in asthmatic patients. Ligustrazine from the Chinese herb chuanxiong has been used in China in combination with glucocorticoids to treat asthma. Previous studies have proved that ligustrazine can modulate the expression of transcription factors for Th1 (T-bet) and Th2 (Gata-3) in asthma. In the present study, ligustrazine alleviated allergic airway inflammation in a mouse asthmatic model by reducing the influx of eosinophils and neutrophils, which was mediated, at least in part, by the regulation of Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 via the re-balance of cytokine profiles and of ratios of transcription factors, T-bet/Gata-3 and Foxp3/RORγt, thus providing new insights into the mechanisms of action for asthma treatment with ligustrazine.
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