Objective: To investigate the effects of Wenyang Huazhuo Tongluo recipe (WYHZTLR) on the collagen production and transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-β1) secretion of systemic sclerosis (SSc) skin fibroblasts in vitro by serum pharmacologic technique. Method: Patients with SSc were treated with prednisone at the dosage of 20 mg·d-1 and D-penicillamine at the dosage of 0.25 g·d-1 or WYHZTLR for one month. Prednisone

D-penicillamine and WYHZTLR contained serum from patients with SSc were respectively added into cultured normal dermal fibroblast cell-line and SSc lesional dermal fibroblast cell-line. Then the cells were incubated for 72 hours. Hydroxyproline and TGF-β1 were examined by colorimetric analysis and ELISA respectively. Result: Different concentrations of drug-contained serum (5%

10% and 20%) of western medicine

Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine could markedly decrease collagen production of normal dermal fibroblasts and SSc lesional dermal fibroblasts in vitro compared with control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). But integrated Chinese and western medicine group could markedly decrease collagen production of fibroblasts compared with western medicine group (P<0.01). Different concentrations of drug-contained serum(5%

10% and 20%) of western medicine

Chinese medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine could markedly decrease the secretion of TGF-β1 compared with control group (P<0.01). But integrated Chinese and western medicine group could significantly decrease the secretion of TGF-β1 compared with western medicine group (P<0.01). There was a positive linear correlation between the hydroxyproline content and the expression of TGF-β1 protein in SSc lesional dermal fibroblasts of the control group (r=0.895

P<0.01). Conclusion: WYHZTLR can significantly inhibit the secretion of collagen and TGF-β1 of SSc skin fibroblasts

and this maybe one of its pharmacologic mechanism in the treatment of SSc.