Objective: The mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treating diseases by regulating the flora has been gradually discovered, and the asthma model of respiratory tract flora disorder caused by antibiotics has been explored to provide a suitable model for studying the effect of TCM on respiratory tract flora and asthma
Methods: Forty male BALB/c mice of SPF grade were randomly divided into the following four groups: normal control group, asthma model group, nasal antibiotic dropping asthma model group, and intraperitoneal antibiotic injection asthma model group. Asthma models were established by house dust mites. Antibiotic cefoperazone sulbactam sodium was given by nasal or intraperitoneal injection respectively to observe the effect of antibiotics on HDM induced asthma in mice. Blood was taken from the canthus of mice 24 days later, Asthma index of mice in each group: count eosinophils in blood, detect the level of IgE in serum, the level of TH2 type cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 in alveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue homogenate of mice, and carry out HE, Masson, PAS staining on lung tissue of mice to observe pathological changes
Results: The levels of EOS in blood, IgE, BALF in serum and IL-5 and IL-13 in lung tissue homogenate of mice in the asthma model group were significantly higher than those in the blank group (P<0.05). The levels of IL-5 and IL-13 in the nasal antibiotic group were significantly higher than those in the asthma model group (P<0.05). The histopathological observation also found that the inflammatory infiltration, extracellular matrix deposition and mucus secretion were more serious in the nasal antibiotic group, However, there was no significant change in the relevant asthma indicators of the intraperitoneal antibiotic injection group compared with the model group
Conclusion: The intranasal administration of cefoperazone sulbactam sodium in mice can aggravate the HDM induced asthma in mice, suggesting that the administration of antibiotics to the respiratory tract may lead to the disorder of respiratory flora and further aggravate the occurrence of asthma. This model can be used as a tool to study the regulation of respiratory flora and asthma by traditional Chinese medicine without the condition of feeding GF mice