The Basic Study Of TCM Theory About "Phlegm Is Viscous In Nature"

Objective:Through establishing rat models with pneumonic asthenia due to Phlegm blockage,observing rats in two groups the changes of their chemokines, cytokines(including monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1,intercellular adhesion molecule-1,vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) and the the systems related to coagulation(including plasma tissue-type plasminogen activator, inhibitor of plasminogen activator and blood viscosity) so as to discuss the TCM theory about"phlegm is viscous in nature".Methods:40 male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group and model group,with 19 in normal group and 21 model group.After a week of normal feeding, rat models were established by blowing cold wind and fumigating them by burning sulfur mixed with moxa for 40 days.Enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay(ELISA) was used to test rats in two groups their monocyte chemo-attractant protein, intercellular adhesion molecule,vascular cell adhesion molecule,plasma tissue-type plasminogen activator,inhibitor of plasminogen activator and blood viscosity.Data collected were tested by t test and rank sum test.Results:1.General situations of the animals:the model group rats were listless, liking staying together,unwilling to move,being fatigued and somnolent; They had dry inverse hair without luster.With wet nose,they coughed occasionally and sometimes were in shortness of breath for the severe cases, the alarming sound of phlegm can be heard clearly associated with cough. During the period of making models,those rats in model group ate significantly more than the normal group and the water they drank was also more than the normal group,but their weight grew slower.2.Body weight:As the experiment progresses,weight of animals in the two groups all increased to some extent.Rats in model group gained weight slower than the normal group.The last week of the experiment,model rats body weight were lower than rats in the normal group.3.Comparing intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1,monocyte ingratiating factor-1 in two groups,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05),All the indicators collected in model group were significantly higher than normal group(p＜0.05).4.Index of hemorheology:After t'test,averagely,PAI-1 in model group was higher than that of the normal group(p＜0.05),t-PA in model group was lower than that of the normal group(p＜0.05),indicating model rats were more vulnerable to the formation of thrombosis.Conclusion:1.Among the model rats with pneumonic asthenia due to phlegm blockage, there was a significant increase in terms of those cell-activating factors like MCP-1,ICAM-1,and VCAM-1 and so on,resulting in accumulation of alveolar macrophages,neutrophils,T cells,NK cells and other inflammatory cells from the blood and surrounding tissue to inflammatory sites.2.Adhesion molecules and chemokines led to adhension between cells,cells and the matrix as well as adhension among cells,matrix and cells,and they induced hypersecretion of airway mucus,which may be the pathogenic characteristics of phlegm-manifestation of the pathological mechanism about"phlegm is viscous in nature".3.The model rats with pneumonic asthenia due to phlegm blockage had more vigorous fibrinolysis and anti-fibrinolytic activity,thicker blood viscosity,and blood can also run through the whole body,reaching everywhere of the body.This phenomenon may be related to theory about phlegm that " phlegm can ascend and descend with the air and can reach anywhere of the body",which is a way to describe phlegm in a broadersense about phlegm's nature being viscous.