Evidence of an anti-apoptotic effect of qinghuobaiduyin on intestinal mucosa following burn injury

Burn injuries are common in wartime and in times of peace. The prevention and therapy of ischemia-reperfusion injury to the organs, in particular the intestine, during the burn shock and recovery process has become a popular yet challenging area of research. Studies concerning the apoptosis of the cells of the burned intestinal mucosa have gained considerable attention. Qinghuobaiduyin (QHBDY) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used as a clinical prescription since 1995 to treat burn patients due to its opsonization function in the immune system and favorable clinical therapeutic effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of QHBDY on the apoptosis of intestinal mucosa following burn injury. An animal model was constructed comprising severely burned rats that were treated with various dosages of QHBDY. Tissues from the small intestine were collected to investigate the apoptosis rate by TUNEL assay and the protein expression levels of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and caspase-3 by immunohistochemistry. In addition, IEC-18 cells treated with QHBDY and burn serum were investigated. The cell apoptosis rate was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM), the protein expression levels of Hsp70 were measured by western blot analysis and caspase-3 activity was analyzed by a colorimetric assay. The results showed that in animal experiments, compared with the burned group, the apoptosis rates in the treatment group was decreased, the protein expression level of Hsp70 was increased while Caspase-3 was decreased. In cell experiments, after treatment with QHBDY, the cell apoptosis rate was lower than that of the burn serum group. In addition, Hsp70 protein expression was upregulated and caspase-3 activity was decreased. QHBDY may play an important role in the prevention of apoptosis at the whole animal and cellular levels.