Shufeng Jiedu Capsule protect against acute lung injury by suppressing the MAPK/NF-κB pathway

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the protective effect of an alternative medicine, Shufeng Jiedu Capsule, in acute lung injury and inflammation signaling pathways related to that action. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to observe pathological changes in rat lung tissue, arterial blood was subjected to blood gas analysis and lactic acid levels were determined, immunofluorescent staining for interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was performed, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect biomarkers of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inflammation pathway including IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), biomarkers of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway including P-selectin, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), and C-Jun/AP-1 were measured, and real-time PCR was used to detect NF-κB mRNA. Results in rats with lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury suggested that Shufeng Jiedu Capsule may increase the partial pressure of oxygen in lung tissue, decrease lactic acid levels, inhibit inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and TNF-α, and suppress the levels of P-selectin, TGF-β, KC, C-Jun/AP-1, and NF-κB mRNA. Thus, Shufeng Jiedu Capsule is a traditional medicine that may alleviate acute lung injury by suppressing the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.