Bushen Yisui Capsule ameliorates axonal injury in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

A preliminary clinical study by our group demonstrated Bushen Yisui Capsule （formerly called Er- huang Formula） in combination with conventional therapy is an effective prescription for the treat- ment of multiple sclerosis. However, its effect on axonal injury during early multiple sclerosis re- mains unclear. In this study, a MOG35 55-immunized C57BL/6 mouse model of experimental auto- immune encephalomyelitis was intragastrically administered Bushen Yisui Capsule. The results showed that Bushen Yisui Capsule effectively improved clinical symptoms and neurological function of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In addition, amyloid precursor protein expression was down-regulated and microtubule-associated protein 2 was up-regulated. Experimental findings indicate that the disease-preventive mechanism of Bushen Yisui Capsule in experimental autoim- mune encephalomyelitis was mediated by amelioration of axonal damage and promotion of regen- eration. But the effects of the high-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group was not better than that of the medium-dose and low-dose Bushen Yisui Capsule group in preventing neurological dysfunction.

Effect of Bushen Yisui Capsule(补肾益髓胶囊) on Oligodendrocyte Lineage Genes 1 and 2 in Mice with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Objective： To study the effects of Bushen Yisui Capsule（补肾益髓胶囊, BSYSC） on the oligodendrocyte lineage genes（Olig） 1 and Olig2 in C57BL/6 mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis（EAE） in order to explore the remyelination effect of BSYSC. Methods： The mice were randomly divided into normal control（NC）, EAE model（EAE-M）, prednisone acetate（PA, 6 mg/kg）, BSYSC high-dose（3.02 g/kg） and BSYSC low-dose（1.51 g/kg） groups. The mice were induced by immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein（MOG） 35-55. The neurological function scores were assessed once daily. The pathological changes in mice brains were observed with hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and transmission electron microscope（TEM）. The protein expressions of myelin basic protein（MBP）, Olig1 and Olig2 in brains were measured by immunohistochemistry. The m RNA expressions of Olig1 and Olig 2 was also determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results： Compared with the EAE-M mice,（1） the neurological function scores were significantly decreased in BSYSC-treated mice on days 22 to 40（P〈0.01）;（2） the inflammatory cells and demyelination in brains were reduced in BSYSC-treated EAE mice;（3） the protein expression of MBP was markedly increased in BSYSC-treated groups on day 18 and 40 respectively（P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）;（4） the protein expression of Olig1 was increased in BSYSC（3.02 g/kg）-treated EAE mice on day 40（P〈0.01）. Protein and m RNA expression of Olig2 was increased in BSYSC-treated EAE mice on day 18 and 40（P〈0.01）. Conclusion： The effects of BSYSC on reducing demyelination and promoting remyelination might be associated with the increase of Olig1 and Olig2.