Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of paeoniflorin （PAE） on the production of transforming growth factor β1 （TGF-β1） from peritoneal macrophages（PMs） stimulated by soluble egg antigen （SEA） of Schistosoma japonicum. Methods SEA was prepared by trituration and added into culture plank， flask and dish containing PMs which were cultured for 24 h. TGF-β1 secreted from PMs was measured by ELISA. TGF-β1 mRNA and protein produced from PMs were evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blotting，respectively. SEA（10 mg/L） 5 ml was added into culture flask and dish containing PMs. PMs were cultured for 12 h， and PAE at different concentrations （0， 7.5， 15， 30， 60， 120 mg/L） was added into the culture flask and dish， and PMs were cultured consecutively for another 12 h and 24 h， respectively. TGF-β1 mRNA and protein from PMs stimulated by SEA were evaluated by RT-PCR and Western blotting， respectively. Results TGF-β1 （235.86±3.43 ng/L） was produced from PMs under stimulation of SEA at 10 mg/L， and the expression of TGF-β1 mRNA and protein in PMs were depressed significantly by PAE in a concentration-dependent manner （r=-0.827， P＜0.01； r=-0.952， P＜0.01， respectively）. Conclusion PAE inhibits the production of TGF-β1 from PMs stimulated by SEA.

Key words: Paeoniflorin, Schistosoma japonicum, Soluble egg antigen, Hepatic fibrosis, Transforming growth factor β1, Macrophage