Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Combining Runmu fengye tang preparation with hydroxysugar glycolic acid eye drops regulates Th17/Treg balance to treat dry eyes via inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 pathway

Zhonghua Wen¹, Shulin Li² , Jia Tian³, Wei Wang¹, Liu Zheng¹, Ping Tao¹

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 541001, China; ²Department of Ophthalmology, Ruikang Hospital affiliated to Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 530011, China; ³Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 541001, China.

For correspondence:- Shulin Li Email: lishulin_dr@163.com Tel:+8613481141052

Accepted: 3 November 2023 Published: 30 November 2023

Citation: Wen Z, Li S, Tian J, Wang W, Zheng L, Tao P. Combining Runmu fengye tang preparation with hydroxysugar glycolic acid eye drops regulates Th17/Treg balance to treat dry eyes via inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(11):2273-2280 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i11.5

© 2023 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To determine effective therapies for the prevention and clinical treatment of dry eye.

Methods: A scopolamine-induced dry eye rabbit model was administrated with Runmu Fengliang tang (RMFS) and hypromellose 2910, dextran 70 and glycerol eye drops (HGA). Schirmer's I test (SIt), break-up time (BUT) and histopathologic examinations (H&E) were used to assess dry eye symptoms and lacrimal gland damage. Flow cytometry was used to determine the number of apoptotic cells and percentages of Th17 and Treg, while Western blot assay was used to evaluate the expression of proteins related to JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

Results: The combination of RMFS with HGA significantly increased tear secretion (p < 0.001), shortened tear break-up time (p < 0.001), repaired ocular surface damage and reduced apoptosis (p < 0.05) in the scopolamine-induced dry eye model in rabbits, compared with the single-administration group. In addition, it regulated the Th17/Treg-related cytokine balance and inhibited the JAK2/SATA3 pathway.

Conclusion: The combination of RMFS and HGA alleviate dry eye symptoms by inhibiting the JAK2/SATA3 pathway in model rabbits induced by scopolamine and this treatment could be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of dry eye disease. Future studies should focus on clinical data collection to investigate the efficacy and safety of the combination.

Keywords: Dry eye disease, Runmu Fengliang Tang, Hypromellose 2910, Dextran 70 and Glycerol Eye Drops, Th17/Treg, JAK2/SATA3 pathway