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. 2023 Sep 25:2023:6058951.
doi: 10.1155/2023/6058951. eCollection 2023.

Angelica Yinzi Alleviates Pruritus-Related Atopic Dermatitis through Skin Repair, Antioxidation, and Balancing Peripheral μ- and κ-opioid Receptors

Wei Liu  1   2 , Yang Luo  3 , Wanci Song  3 , Hanxiong Dan  3 , Li Li  4 , Daonian Zhou  2 , Pengtao You  3
Affiliations

Angelica Yinzi Alleviates Pruritus-Related Atopic Dermatitis through Skin Repair, Antioxidation, and Balancing Peripheral μ- and κ-opioid Receptors

Wei Liu et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

Abstract

Background: Angelica Yinzi (AYZ) is a Chinese traditional herbal formula reported to attenuate itches and inflammation caused by atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the underlying mechanism of AYZ in the attenuation of itchiness and inflammation remains unknown.

Objective: This study investigated the mechanism of AYZ in reducing itchiness in mice with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene- (DNCB-)-induced atopic dermatitis.

Methods: Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and toluidine blue staining were used to evaluate pathological changes in skin tissue, while an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess the cytokine levels in the skin. After that, qRT-PCR was performed to determine the mRNA levels of cytokines in the skin. Immunofluorescence and western blotting analysis were further used to assess µ-opioid receptor (MOR) expression and immunohistochemistry to assess the p-ERK, p-AKT, and κ-opioid receptor (KOR).

Results: The AYZ treatment alleviated the AD clinical symptoms, including decreasing the scratching frequency, the ear thickness, and the infiltration of mast cells, lymphocytes, inflammatory cells, and mononuclear cells. In addition, AYZ inhibited the expression of interleukin (IL)-13, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), and reduced neuraminidase (NA), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression. Markers involved in itches, such as p-ERK and p-AKT, were significantly downregulated following AYZ treatment. Besides, AYZ significantly increased MOR expression and downregulated KOR in the epidermis and spinal cord.

Conclusion: Our findings imply that AYZ ameliorates pruritus-related AD through skin repair, antioxidation, and balancing peripheral MOR and KOR. The findings in this study lay a theoretical foundation for the control mechanism of peripheral itch.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS base peak chromatogram of the PTQX granule extract.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Scratching frequency in the dermal lesions of C57BL/6 mice. (b) The ear thickness from day 0 to 21. (c) H&E and toluidine blue staining of mouse dorsal skin (×200). Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. ##p < 0.01, vs. the control group. ∗p < 0.05 vs. the model group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effects of AYZ treatment on (a) CRF, (b) NA, and (c) TSLP in the serum. (d) Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cutaneous tissue. ##p < 0.01, vs. the control group. ∗p < 0.05 vs. the model group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunofluorescence staining showing the MOR expression in the (a) epidermis and (b) spinal cord at ×200 magnification. Immunohistochemical staining showing the expression of KOR in the epidermis and spinal cord at ×200 magnification (c-d). (e) The MOR proteins expression in the epidermis was determined using Western blot analysis. ##p < 0.01, vs. the control group. ∗p < 0.05 vs. the model group.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Immunohistochemical staining showing the expression of p-ERK and p-AKT in the spinal cord at ×200 magnification. ##p < 0.01, vs. the control group. ∗p < 0.05 vs. the model group.
Figure 6
Figure 6
qPCR was used to evaluate IL-13, MOR, and KOR mRNA expression in DNCB-induced skin lesion tissues. ##p < 0.01, vs. the control group. ∗p < 0.05 vs. the model group.
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