摘要Objective:The objective of this study was to investigate whether baicalin alleviates neuropathic pain through the interferon regulatory factor 4(IRF4)/CCL17 pathway in sciatic nerve mice with chronic constriction injury(CCI).Materials and Methods:The experiment was divided into four groups,with eight animals in each group for mechanical withdrawal threshold(MWT)testing and three animals in each group for real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR),western blot,ELISA,immunohistochemistry and hematoxylin-eosin(HE)testing:wild-type C57BL/6 sciatic nerve ligation group(WT-CCI),C57BL/6IRF4-/-sciatic nerve ligation group(KO-CCI),and WT-CCI+baicalin and KO-CCI+baicalin groups.We implemented a CCI of the sciatic nerve model in wild-type and IRF4-knockout mice.MWT was used to test the pain threshold,intumescentia lumbalis was extracted,HE staining was used to observe the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the spinal cord,ELISA was used to detect CCL17 protein expression,immunohistochemistry was used to detect Iba 1-positive cells counting,western blotting was used to detect IRF4 protein expression,and real-time PCR was used to detect IRF4 and CCL 17 mRNA expression levels.Results:After treatment with baicalin,mice in the WT-CCI+B group showed increased MWT,decreased infiltration of spinal inflammatory cells,decreased Iba 1 positive cell count,and decreased expression levels of CCL17 compared to those observed in wild-type CCI mice(WT-CCI group).However,the above indices did not differ between mice in the KO-CCI and KO-CCI+B groups.Conclusions:Baicalin reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells,inhibited microglial activity,and reduced the expression of the inflammatory mediator CCL 17.Baicalin alleviates CCI-induced neuropathic pain involved in the IRF4/CCL17 pathway.