Effects of realgar on stress proteins, inflammatory mediators, and complement in brain tissue and serum of rats with inflammatory brain injury

R74; BACKGROUND: The Chinese herbal compound realgar exerts detoxification effects as an adjuvant. It is suggested that realgar exerts detoxification via the following pathways: in the pathological state, realgar corrects the oxidative stress state by increasing stress levels, activating some endogenous protective factors and antagonizing the excessive release of inflammatory factors, as well as inhibiting complement activation.OBJECTIVE: To observe the changes in stress proteins, inflammatory mediators, and complement in the brain tissue and serum of rats with inflammatory brain injury, which have been treated with thc Chinese herbal compound Angong Niuhuang, and to compare the efficacy of Angong Niuhuang with that of realgar,to verify the mechanism of action of realgar.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: Randomized, controlled, cytological experiment, performed in the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in March 2006.MATERIALS: Thirty-six healthy, male, Sprague Dawley rats received 250 U/kg Bordetella pertussis via the common carotid artery within 15 seconds to induce inflammatory brain injury. Reagents and kits were as follows: Realgar and Angong Niuhuang powder (Foshan Second Pharmaceutical Factory, China), Bordetella pertussis diagnostic antigen (National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products,China), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Stressgen, USA),tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) ELISA kit (Biosource, USA), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) kit,Coomassie brilliant blue protein kit (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Co.,Ltd., China), and complements C3 and C4 (Shanghai Kehua Dongling Diagnositic Products Co.,Ltd., China),METHODS: Thirty-six rats were randomly and evenly divided into the following six groups: normal control,model, high-, middle-, and low-dose realgar-treated, and Angong Niuhuang-treated groups. At one hour prior to establishing the model, rats in the high-, middle-, and low-dose realgar-treated groups were administered 300, 150, and 75 mg/kg realgar, respectively; while rats in the Angong Niuhuang group received 1.5 g/kg Angong Niuhuang powder; In the model group, rats were administered Bordetalla pertussis only.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two hours after the administration of Bordetalla pertussis, the HSP70level in the brain tissue and serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and TNF-αwere determined by ELISA t