Zhenxin Anshen formula(镇心安神方)ameliorates atopic der-matitis-like skin dysfunction in mice and in vitro via regulation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 and transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 in Neural pathways

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the efficacy of Zhenxin Anshen formula(镇心安神方,ZXAS)on atopic dermatitis(AD)by transient receptor potential vanilloid 1(TRPV1)and transient receptor potential ankyrin 1(TRPA1)signalling pathway in mice and in vitro.METHODS:AD-like lesions were induced by 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene(DNCB)to the shaved dorsal skin of BALB/c mice.BALB/c mice were divided into five groups:normal control,model control,cetirizine,low-,medium-,and high-dose of ZXAS.After ZXAS in-tervention,the skin lesions and blood samples were collected for hematoxylin and eosin-stained and measuring the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines.Immunoglobulin E(IgE),interleukin(IL)-4,IL-5,IL-13,and thymic stromal lymphopoietin(TSLP)were de-tected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The spinal cords were collected for measuring the expression of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor(GRPR),TRPV1,and TRPA1 by using immunohistochemistry,western blotting,and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qR T-PCR)analyses.In addition,3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT)assay,flow cytometry,ELISA,and Western blotting were conducted for analysis of primary dorsal root ganglia(DRG)neurons in vitro.RESULTS:ZXAS treatment improved DNCB-induced AD-like lesions through reducing dermatitis score,number of scratching and epidermal thickness,accompanied by the de-creased IgE and Th2 inflammatory cytokines.ZXAS also supressed the mRNA and protein expression of GRPR,TRPV1,and TRPA1 in the spinal cord.The medicated sera of ZXAS decreased capsaicin-induced Ca^(2+)influx and downregulated the expression of TRPV1,TRPA1,and phospholipase C in DRG neurons.CONCLUSIONS:The therapeutic effect of ZXAS on AD may be related to the regulation of TRPV1 and TRPA1 and inhibition of Ca^(2+)signals in neurons.