Jichu yixue yu linchuang (Jan 2021)
Inhibition of inflammatory response by α-lipoic acid in autoimmune thyroiditis mice
Abstract
Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of α-lipoic acid on inflammation in autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) mice and its effect on lymphocyte subsets. Methods Eighty NOD.H-2h 4 female rats were randomly divided into a control group and the AIT group which was given 50 mg/L sodium iodide orally; Low- and high-dose α-lipoic acid intervention group was injected intraperitoneally with 0.1 and 0.4 g/L α-lipoic acid daily. Twenty animals in each group were continued to be intervened for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of intervention, HE staining was used to observe lymphocyte infiltration; flow cytometry was used to detect Th17, Treg, CD4+, CD8+ T cells and CD4+/CD8+ levels; and Western blot method was used to determine p38MAPK and NF-κB protein level. Results The incidence of thyroid inflammation in AIT group was as high as 85%. The incidence of thyroiditis, the degree of thyroid inflammation, and the proportion of Th17 cells in the AIT+low/high-dose alpha-lipoic acid group were significantly lower than those in the AIT group (P<0.05), and the proportion of Treg, CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+ cells were significant higher than that in the AIT group (P<0.05).The AIT+low/high-dose α-lipoic acid group had significantly lower relative protein expression than those in the AIT group (P<0.05). Conclusions α-lipoic acid can reduce the expression of inflammatory cytokines in autoimmune thyroid mice, improve the proportion of lymphocyte subsets, thereby suppressing the inflammatory response and improving the symptoms of AIT.