Figure 6.

The influence of ARC on the cytokines in serum and liver tissues after ConA (10 mg⋅kg⁻¹) administration with and without ARC pretreatment. (A) The influence of ARC on the release of cytokines. In the presence of drugs or vehicle treatments twice per day for 10 days, ARC or vehicle alone had no effects on the inflammatory responses in normal mice. The levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ were decreased in serum in ARC pretreatment group at 6 and 24 h, and the level of IL-10 was still kept increasing from 6 to 24 h at model group, ARC pretreatment further increased the level of IL-10 at 6 h, but the level of IL-10 in ARC pretreatment mice was lower than that in model mice at 24 h. (B) The influence of ARC on the mRNA level of cytokines in liver tissues. The mRNA levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ in liver tissues were both increased after ConA administration. They were decreased by ARC pretreatment at 6 and 24 h. ARC pretreatment further increased the mRNA level of IL-10 in liver tissue at 6 h after ConA administration. At 24 h, the mRNA level of IL-10 was further increased in model group, but it returned to normal level in ARC pretreatment group. ^##p < 0.01 compared with normal group; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 compared with model group (n = 8). The mice pre-treated with vehicle were used as model group.