Abstract

Lysyl oxidase-like 2 plays a vital role in collagen deposition and fibrosis. This study aimed to explore the preventive effect and possible mechanisms of xiaoyuningkun decoction on rats with sequelae pelvic inflammatory disease. Sequelae pelvic inflammatory disease rat model was induced by hydrochloric acid and lipopolysaccharide injection through the upper genital tract, and then xiaoyuningkun decoction was orally administered for 28 d. The histological examination, fibrosis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were carried out. Immunohistochemistry, real-time qualitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to detect the expression of lysyl oxidase-like 2 and transforming growth factor-beta 1 in uterine tissues. The administration of xiaoyuningkun decoction potentially inhibited histopathological changes and inflammatory cells infiltration. Significantly decreased serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 levels suppressed fibrosis in uterine tissues of sequelae pelvic inflammatory disease rats. We also found that xiaoyuningkun decoction reduced messenger ribonucleic acid and protein expression in uterine tissues. Furthermore, serum levels of two fibrosis-related proteins, transforming growth factor-beta1 and matrix metallopeptidase 9, were decreased by xiaoyuningkun in sequelae pelvic inflammatory disease rats. Our data speculated that xiaoyuningkun has an anti-fibrosis effect in the sequelae pelvic inflammatory disease rat model, and the mechanism might be through inhibition of lysyl oxidase-like 2 and transforming growth factor-beta 1 pathways.