• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.32-41
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• 2012

Objectives: Rehmannia glutinosa pharmacopuncture solution (RGPS) was investigated to determine both its anti-allergic inflammatory effects on mast cells and its detailed mechanism of actions. Methods: We investigated whether RGPS suppress cytokines, enzymes, $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ expression and $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$-mediated signaling in RBL-2H3 cells stimulated with anti-DNP IgE/DNP-HSA. The suppressive effects of RGPS on the levels of cytokines such as IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 and GM-CSF were measured using emzyme-linked immunospecific assay (ELISA). The mRNA expression levels of cytokines, enzymes (HDC2, COX-1, COX-2 and 5LO) and $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$ ${\alpha}{\beta}{\gamma}$ subunits were measured using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The activation of $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$-mediated signaling was examined using Western blot analyses. Results: RGPS suppressed production of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, and GM-CSF) in stimulated RBL-2H3 cells significantly (p < 0.05). RGPS also suppressed mRNA expression of inflammatory enzymes (HDC2, COX-1, COX-2, 5LO). In addition, mRNA expression levels of $Fc{\varepsilon}RI{\alpha}$, $Fc{\varepsilon}RI{\beta}$and $Fc{\varepsilon}RI{\gamma}$ were lowered by treatment with RGPS. Finally, RGPS prevented phosphrylation of Lyn, Syk, LAT, Gab2, PLC ${\gamma}1/2$, PI3K, Akt, cPLA2 and $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$. Conclusions: RGPS effectively suppresses mast cell activations such as degranulation and inflammatory response via down-regulation of the $Fc{\varepsilon}RI$-mediated signaling pathways in IgE/Ag-stimulated mast cells.