Polysaccharide from Ephedra sinica Stapf inhibits inflammation expression by regulating Factor-β1/Smad2 signaling

Mahuang, a famous traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for the treatment of common cold and inflammatory diseases in China. We investigated the protective effects of polysaccharide from Ephedra sinica Stapf (ESP-B4) against airway and pulmonary inflammation. Animal model was made in SD rats via intratracheal instillation of Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on day1 and 14 and inhalation of Cigarette Smoke (CS) for 4 weeks. ESP-B4 was administered by oral gavage for 2 weeks. We studied the number of inflammatory cells in serum, production of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and MMP-9 in lung homogenization buffer, and the expression of TGF-β1, P-Smad2 and P-Smad3 in lung tissue. In vitro, model was made in A549 cells with LPS and cigarette smoke extract. We investigated the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8, and the expression of TGF-β1, P-Smad2, P-Smad3 and Smad7. Our results revealed that ESP-B4 lowered the recruitment of inflammatory cells; and decreased the production of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and MMP-9, significantly reduced the expression of TGF-β1, P-Smad2 and P-Smad3, increased the expression of Smad7. These results indicated that ESP-B4 reduced airway and pulmonary inflammation by regulating inflammatory cytokines and the TGF-β1/Smad2 pathway, thus providing a potential treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).