Objective: Vasculitis is the basic pathological change of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Radix Paeoniae Rubra (RPR), a traditional Chinese herb with the function of reducing blood stasis, has anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory properties. This study explored the effects of RPR on the kidneys of lupus-like symptoms of mrl (MRL/lpr) mice from the perspective of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1).

Methods: Eighteen MRL/lpr lupus model mice were randomly divided into three groups, the model control group, prednisone-treated group, and RPR-treated group, and 6 C57BL/ 6 mice were classified as a control group. After the mice had been treated for 12 weeks, the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and PECAM-1in the kidney was determined by immunohistochemistry and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).

Results: After 12 weeks, there were significant differences in body weight in the model, prednisone and RPR groups compared with the normal group (P <0.05). Pathological observation: Compared with the model group, the proliferation of inflammatory cells infiltrated glomeruli and interstitial cells in prednisone and RPR groups were reduced, and renal pathological damage was reduced. Compared with the model group, urine protein level of prednisone and RPR groups were reduced with no significance (P> 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were significantly reduced in the prednisone group and RPR group compared with the model group (P <0.05 or P <0.01). Meanwhile, the immunohistochemistry expressions of ICAM-1 and VCAM- 1 expressed in the kidney were significantly reduced in the prednisone group and RPR group (P <0.01 or P <0.05). However, The mRNA expression level and the immunohistochemistry expressions of PECAM-1 expressed in the kidney were reduced in each treatment group (prednisone group and RPR group), but these differences were not significant (P>0.05).

Conclusions: ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and PECAM-1 expression in the model group was found to be significantly increased. In addition, RPR could reduce the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and PECAM-1 in MRL/lpr lupus mice as effectively as prednisone, which may result in the dosage reduction of prednisone, thus decreasing the toxicity and improving the efficacy of prednisone - based treatment of SLE.

目的：血管炎是系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的基本病理变化。Pa药白Ru具有降血脂和消炎，免疫调节作用。这项研究从细胞间细胞粘附分子-1（ICAM-1），血管细胞粘附分子-1（VCAM-1）的角度探讨了RPR对mrl（MRL / lpr）小鼠狼疮样症状肾脏的影响。和血小板内皮细胞粘附分子-1（PECAM-1）。

方法：将18只MRL / lpr狼疮模型小鼠随机分为三组，分别为模型对照组，泼尼松治疗组和RPR治疗组，将6只C57BL / 6小鼠作为对照组。小鼠治疗12周后，通过免疫组织化学和逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）确定肾脏中ICAM-1，VCAM-1和PECAM-1的表达。

结果：12周后，模型组，泼尼松组和RPR组的体重与正常组相比有显着性差异（P <0.05）。病理观察：与模型组相比，泼尼松组和RPR组炎症细胞浸润性肾小球和间质细胞的增殖减少，肾脏病理损害减少。与模型组相比，泼尼松组和RPR组尿蛋白水平降低均无统计学意义（P> 0.05）。与模型组相比，泼尼松组和RPR组的ICAM-1和VCAM-1的mRNA表达水平明显降低（P <0.05或P <0.01）。同时，泼尼松组和RPR组肾脏中ICAM-1和VCAM-1的免疫组织化学表达明显降低（P <0。01或P <0.05）。然而，各治疗组（泼尼松组和RPR组）肾脏中PECAM-1的mRNA表达水平和免疫组化表达均降低，但差异无统计学意义（P> 0.05）。

结论：模型组ICAM-1，VCAM-1和PECAM-1表达明显升高。此外，RPR可以像泼尼松一样有效地降低MRL / lpr狼疮小鼠中ICAM-1，VCAM-1和PECAM-1的表达，这可能导致泼尼松的剂量减少，从而降低了泼尼松的毒性并提高了其功效。泼尼松治疗SLE。