OBJECTIVE

2

To study the immunomodulatory effect of Guipi pills on D-galactose（D-gal）-induced aging mice.

METHODS

2

The immune-related targets and related pathways for Guipi pills to exert immune effects were screened by network pharmacology and verified through pharmacodynamic experiments. Totally 105 male ICR mice were randomly divided into blank control （CON） group， model control （MOD） group， positive control （POS） group， Guipi pills low-dose （GD） group and Guipi pills high-dose （GG） group. Except for the CON group， other groups were subcutaneously injected with 400 mg/kg D-gal to induce the aging model； CON group and MOD group were given distilled water， POS group was given 300 mg/kg pidotimod oral solution intragastrically， GD group and GG group were given Guipi pills 300， 600 mg/kg intragastrically， once a day， for 8 weeks. After medication， the serum and spleen were collected， and the contents of interleukin 2 （IL-2）， IL-4， IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α）， and the contents of immunoglobulin G （IgG）， IgM and IgA were detected. The spleen index was calculated and the histopathological changes in the spleen were observed. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） and malondialdehyde （MDA）， and the content of 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine （8-OHdG） in spleen were detected； the expression of TNF/phosphoinositide-3-kinase-threonine protein kinase （PI3k-Akt）-related proteins in spleen was detected except for POS group.

RESULTS

2

The results of network pharmacology showed that TNF， IL-6 and Akt1 were core targets. The results of pharmacodynamic study showed that compared with MOD group， the contents of IL-2， IL-4， IgG， IgM and IgA were increased significantly in Guipi pills groups， while the contents of TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased significantly； the spleen index was increased significantly （

P

＜0.05 or

P

＜0.01）. The phenomenon of diffuse proliferation of lymphocytes was improved， the spleen cells were closely arranged， and the line between the white pulp and red pulp was clear. The activities of SOD and GSH-Px in spleen were increased significantly， while the activity of MDA， the content of 8-OHdG， and the protein expressions of TNF-α， PI3K and p-Akt were decreased significantly （

P

＜0.05 or

P

＜0.01）.

CONCLUSIONS

2

Guipi pills can regulate the immune function of D-gal-induced aging mice， which is related to regulating the TNF/PI3k-Akt pathway， thereby reducing oxidative stress damage in spleen tissue of mice， and regulating protein expressions of TNF-α， PI3K and p-Akt.