Female Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into five groups according to the random number table: a normal group (Group I), an external dampness group (Group II), an internal dampness group (Group III), and an external and internal dampness group (Group IV). Twenty days after the model made, IL-2 and IL-8 levels were detected by radioimmunoassay method.
The IL-2 and IL-8 levels among groups were significant (F=3.102, P<0.05; F=2.657, P<0.05, respectively). The level of IL-2 in Group II and Group III were higher than that in Group I (P<0.05, P<0.01, respectively), especially higher in the Group III compared with Group II (P<0.05). The level of IL-8 in Group III were higher than those in Group I, Group II and Group IV (P<0.05, P<0.01, P< 0.05, respectively). In the Group III, the 24-hour water and body weight were higher than that in the Group IV (all P<0.05), and spontaneous movement frequency was higher than those in Group II and Group IV (P<0.05).
Immune activation and inflammatory reaction might be easily caused by external danpness other than internal dampness.