EFFECTS OF PHLEGM ON GROWTH OF COLORECTAL NEOPLASMS AND EXPRESSION OF TNF-Α AND IL-8 IN MICE

Cheng Xiao^{#, *}, Meiling Li^#, Ke Li, Ziming Wang, Xiao Zhang

The First Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, Guizhou 550001, China

Objective: To observe the effect of phlegm on the growth of colorectal neoplasms and the expression of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) and IL-8 (Interleukin-8) inflammatory factors in mice and reveal the molecular mechanism of phlegm on the generation and growth of colorectal neoplasms. 

Method: 40 BALB/C nude mice were randomly divided into a Normal Control Group, a Phlegm Group, a Tumor Group and a Phlegm-Tumor Group according to the random number table method, to observe their basic growth and living conditions, record their body weights and measure and calculate the weight and growth rate of tumor tissue. Then, the TNF-α and IL-8 inflammatory expression factors in mouse serum were detected by ELISA. 

Results: The mice in the Normal Control Group were significantly lighter than those in the Phlegm Group (P<0.05), of which the weight reduction was more significant in the Tumor Group than in the Phlegm-Tumor Group (P<0.05); the tumor weight was greater in the Phlegm-Tumor Group than in the Tumor Group (P<0.05), and the tumor growth rate was up to 36.9%; compared with the Normal Control Group, the IL-8 and TNF-α expressions in the mouse serum increased in other 3 groups, which was more obvious in the Phlegm-Tumor Group (P<0.05). 

Conclusion: Phlegm plays an active role in the growth of colorectal neoplasms in mice and can promote the increase of the expressions of cytokines TNF-α and IL-8 in colorectal neoplasms tissues, which offers a theoretical support for clinically preventing and treating colorectal neoplasms by the phlegm-reducing and masses-resolving method.