Avaliação do efeito do extrato aquoso de Echinodorus grandiflorus na modulação da resposta imune no modelo de alergia pulmonar induzida por OVA

Abstract

Asthma is a disease characterized by intermittent obstruction of the airways and chronic inflammation and affects about 300 million people around the world. It is considered a serious health problem, bringing a large economic burden. The immune response in asthma is predominantly Th2 lymphocytes, with high levels of total and allergen-specific IgE and bronchial eosinophilia. Asthma treatment is aimed at controlling the disease and the drugs used currently have systemic side effects and generally are not effective in cases of asthma are difficult to control. In this study we investigated the effect of aqueous extract of Echinodorus grandiflorus, plant used in folk medicine for its diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties, in the model of lung allergy in which BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA. Oral treatment with the extract markedly reduced the number of neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), the activity of eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) in lung tissue, levels of OVA-specific IgE in serum, levels of CCL11 in lung tissue, the gene expression of IL-4 and IL-13 in lung tissue and the expression of CD25 on BAL cells. However, the treatment did not alter the inflammatory infiltrate and the number of eosinophils in lung tissue, levels of chemokines CCL2 and CCL5, levels of cytokines IL-4, IL-13, IL-10 and IL-17A and gene expression of Foxp3 in the lung tissue and the expression of CD28 and CD152 on BAL cells. These results suggest that the aqueous extract of E. grandiflorus is able to modulate some aspects of allergic pulmonary inflammation and may be useful in the treatment of asthma.