Mechanism of Yiqi Huayu Bushen recipe in treating cervical syndrome with kidney deficiency in rats

Objective: To research the action mechanism of Yiqi Huayu Bushen Recipe (YHBR), a compound of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, in treating cervical syndrome (CS) with kidney deficiency in rats. Methods: A total of 30 three-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal control group, CS with kidney deficiency model group (untreated group) and YHBR group, with 10 rats in each group. Rats in the normal control group received no treatment, while rats of the other two groups underwent resection of both cervical muscles and ovaries to establish the model of CS with kidney deficiency. Three months after surgery, rats in the YHBR group were intragastricly administered YHBR for one month. Another one month later, all rats were sacrificed. The content of serum estradiol (E₂) was detected by radioimmunoassay; contents of plasma cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) were tested, and the ratio of cAMP/cGMP was also calculated. Hemorheology was detected by Weissenberg's method; expression of alpha-granular membrane protein (CD62p) was detected by flow cytometry; HE staining was used to detect the histopathology of cervical intervertebral disc degeneration; type II collagen protein was detected by immunohistochemistry and aggrecan-1 (Agc1), type II procollagen gene, Col2a1, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) mRNAs were detected by fluorescent quantization polymerase chain reaction. Results: Compared with the untreated group, rats in the YHBR group showed an obvious increase in serum E₂ content (P<0.05), and an increase in plasma cAMP and cGMP content without significant difference; hemorheological parameters and percentage of CD62p expression were significantly decreased in the YHBR group P<0.05, P<0.01). YHBR could improve the degeneration of cervical intervertebral discs, decrease the Miyamoto scores (P<0.05), and increase the type II collagen. The expressions of Agc1, Col2a1 and TIMP-1 mRNAs were significantly increased and MMP-13 mRNA significantly decreased in YHBR group (P< 0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion: YHBR may improve CS with kidney deficiency and delay the degeneration of cervical intervertebral disc by regulating the immune-metabolism system, coagulation system and endocrine system.