Efficacy of Medicated Thread Moxibustion of Zhuang Medicine on Skin Lesions in Eczema Rats Based on p38/NF-κB and JAK1-STAT6 Pathways.

Objective: Eczema is a common inflammatory skin disease that severely affects patients' daily life and work, necessitating effective intervention. Medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine (MTMZM), an integral part of Chinese medicine, is also a component of complementary and alternative medicine, demonstrating promising therapeutic effects. However, its mechanism in treating eczema remains unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy and mechanism of MTMZM on skin lesions and p38/NF-κB and JAK1-STAT6 pathway in eczema rats. Methods: Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided. Nine of them were assigned to the normal group, while the remaining 39 rats were selected for the subsequent eczema model establishment process. In total, 7% DNCB acetone olive oil solution was used to establish eczema model. Successful modeling rats were randomly divided into three groups with 13 rats each: model group, western medicine group (WM group), and MTMZM group. Normal group and model group received no treatment. MTMZM group received MTMZM treatment on the Ashi point (skin lesions in eczema) and WM group received positive drug Pevisone cream. The eczema severity index (ESI) in rats was scored before intervention and during the first and second weeks of intervention. After intervention, samples were taken from rats' back lesions (taking normal skin in the same area from normal group). After sampling, the skin thickness difference (STD) with normal skin and diseased skin lesions was measured. HE staining was used to observe the tissue morphology of skin lesions. Western blot was used to detect JAK1, p-JAK1, STAT6, p-STAT6, NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, and p-p38 protein content in skin lesions; the serum content of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-4 were detected by ELISA. Results: (1) Compared with normal group, model group showed dermal necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration under light microscopy. The ESI and STD increased (p  < 0.05). JAK1, p-JAK1, STAT6, p-STAT6, NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, and p-p38 protein content in skin lesion increased(p  < 0.05). The serum content IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-4 increased (p  < 0.05). (2) Compared with model group, MTMZM group and WM group showed significant improvement in pathological changes. The ESI and STD decreased (p  < 0.05). NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, p-p38, JAK1, p-JAK1, STAT6, and p-STAT6 content (p  < 0.05) decreased. The serum content IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-4 decreased (p  < 0.05). (3) Compared with WM group, MTMZM group showed visible neovascularization under light microscopy. The ESI and STD decreased (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in p-p38, p-NF-κB p65, JAK1, p-JAK1, STAT6, and p-STAT6 content (p  > 0.05), as well as in IL-4 content (p  > 0.05). The serum content IL-1β and TNF-α increased (p  < 0.05). Conclusion: MTMZM can effectively relieve eczema skin lesions, which may be related to the inhibition of p38/NF-κB and JAK1-STAT6 pathways.