Effects of total glucosides of paeony for delaying onset of Sjogren's syndrome: an animal study

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of total glucosides of paeony (TGP) on Sjogren's syndrome (SS) using non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice model. Study design Twenty-seven 8-week-old female NOD mice were assigned into TGP group, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) group and normal saline (NS) group, receiving corresponding drugs respectively and sacrificed at 24-week-old. Saliva flow rate (SFR), ration of regulatory T cells, level of anti-SSA/SSB, histological changes in submandibular glands (SMG) and microarray analysis were assessed. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Results Compared to NS group, in TGP group, SFR, SMG index and the ration of regulatory T cells were significantly higher, while anti-SSA/SSB and lymphocytic foci were significantly lower. HCQ group demonstrated similar results except SMG index. Altered gene expression was found in 10.71% of TGP and 13.09% of HCQ of the profile. Conclusion TGP demonstrated a similar effectiveness as HCQ in delaying the onset of SS-like disease in NOD mice.