Baicalin regulates autophagy to interfere with small intestinal acute graft-versus-host disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is the main complication of and cause of death after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Baicalin can protect the small intestinal epithelial cells of rats against TNF-α-induced injury and alleviate enteritis-related diarrhea. To verify whether baicalin can protect the small intestinal mucosal barrier by regulating abnormal autophagy and interfering with intestinal aGVHD, a mouse model of aGVHD was established. CB6F1 micewere intravenously injected with a suspension of mononuclear cells derived from BALB/c donor mouse bone marrow and splenic tissue after treatment with 60Co X-rays. After treatment with different doses of baicalin for 15 days, the survival time, serum TNF-α and IL-10 levels, and autophagy markers levels in the intestine were assessed. A cell model of intestinal barrier dysfunction was also used to verify the effect of baicalin. The results showed that baicalin significantly prolonged the survival time, significantly reduced the aGVHD pathology score and clinical score by decreasing the TNF-α level with increasing the IL-10 level compared with the control. Transmission electron microscopy examination showed that baicalin treatment increased the number of autophagic vacuoles and led to the recovery of mitochondrial structures in the intestinal mucosal epithelial cells of mice and in Caco-2 cells. Western blotting results showed that baicalin treatment enhanced autophagy in vivo by regulating the AMPK/mTOR autophagy pathway. Similar results were observed in vitro in Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, the effect of baicalin was reduced after combination treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine(3-MA). Baicalin can decrease the severity of small intestinal aGVHD by regulating autophagy by influencing imbalances in inflammatory cytokine levels and mucosal barrier damage, thus baicalin may have potential as a new treatment for aGVHD.