Mechanism of action of Zhuyu Annao pill in mice with cerebral intrahemorrhage based on TLR4

Objective:To explore the protective effect and possible mechanism of action of Zhuyu Annao pill in mice with intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH).Methods:Sixty mice were divided into the control group,hemorrhage group,drug-treated group(after hemorrhage),TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage + drug-treated group(after hemorrhage) with 12 in each group.Model of autologous ICH was established in all groups.After drilling and 12 h of fasting,models in the control group hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group were all drenched with 10 mL/kg distilled water by intragastric administration.Models in the drug-treated group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage + drugtreated group were drenched with 6.25 g/kg of Zhuyu Annao pill.All groups were treated for 7 d.Longa scoring method was used to measure the neurological defect scores and determine the brain water contents of all groups;ELISA was employed to detect the inflammatory factor interleukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor- α(TNF- α) and IL-1β in brain tissues;and Western blot was applied to test the expression quantities of apoptotic protein Bax and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in brain tissues.Results:At day 3 and7,compared with the hemorrhage group,the neurological defect scores of the drug-treated group,TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage + drug-treated group decreased significantly(P<0.05) Compared with the hemorrhage group,the brain water contents of the drug-treated group,TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage + drug-treated group reduced significantly(P<0.05) Compared with the hemorrhage group,the inflammatory factor IL-6,TNF-α and IL-1β of the drug-treated group,TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage + drug-treated group decreased significantly(P<0.05).Compared with the hemorrhage group,the expression of apoptotic protein Bax of the drug-treated group,TLR4-knockout hemorrhage group and TLR4-knockout hemorrhage+ drug-treated group decreased significantly and the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 increased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusions:Zhuyu Annao pill can alleviateencephaledema for mice with ICH and reduce inflammatory responsesandnerve cell apoptosis.TLR4 can mediate inflammatory injury induced by ICH.Thus,Zhuyu Annao pill can play a protective role for brains by decreasing the expression of TLR4.