effects of tenghuanglin on injury to splenic lymphocyte induced by microwave radiation in rats

Objective　To observe the effects of Tenghuanglin (THL) on injury to peripheral T and B lymphocytes induced by microwave radiation in rats, and explore the protective effects of THL against derangement of immunity in rat injury induced by microwave irradiation and its mechanism. Methods　Eighty clean male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group (CON group), radiation group (RAD group), AduoLa Fuzhenglin (ADL) treatment group and THL treatment group, with 20 rats in each group. Before radiation, rats in ADL group and THL group were treated with ADL and THL respectively by gavage once per day for 7 days. Then, whole body of the rats was respectively exposed to 30 mW/cm2 microwave for 15 min. Rats in CON group were shamradiated. The changes in splenic CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocyte subsets and CD45RA+ B lymphocyte subset were analyzed 7 and 14 days after radiation. Results　Seven days after radiation, the splenic coefficient of RAD group was lower than that of CON group and THL group (P<0.05), the CD4+ T cell proportion of RAD group was lower than that of CON group (P<0.05), the CD8+ T cell proportion of RAD group was higher than that of CON group (P<0.05), and the CD3+ and CD4+ T cell proportions of THL group were higher than those of RAD group and ADL group (P<0.05). Fourteen days after radiation, the CD8+ T cell proportion of RAD group and the CD3+ and CD4+ T cell proportions of THL group were higher than that of RAD group (P<0.05). The CD4/CD8 ratio of RAD group was lower than that of CON group on day 7 after radiation (P<0.05), and it returned to the level of CON group on day 14 after radiation. Seven days after radiation, the CD4/CD8 ratio of THL group was higher than that of RAD group (P<0.05). Fourteen days after radiation, the CD4/CD8 ratio of THL group was lower than that of ADL group (P<0.05), and similar to those of CON group and RAD group (P>0.05). The CD45RA+ B cell proportion of RAD group was lower than those of CON group and ADL group 7 days after radiation (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found among 4 groups on day 14 after radiation (P>0.05). Conclusions　The splenic T and B lymphocytes subsets decrease significantly at the early stage after microwave radiation in rats. Because of the rapid decrease in CD4+ T cell proportion, decreased CD4/CD8 ratio could lead to immune imbalance. Preventive treatment with THL could increase the T and B lymphocyte proportions and improve the CD4/CD8 ratio in rats after microwave radiation. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2014.12.14