Mechanism of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction in treating acute lung injury based on network pharmacology and experimental verification.

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction in treating acute lung injury(ALI) based on network pharmacology and animal experiments. The potential targets and signaling pathways of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction in regulating ALI were predicted by network pharmacology. The rat model of ALI was constructed and administrated with different doses of Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction. The pathological changes in the lung tissue of rats were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The levels of interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the peripheral blood were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The mRNA and protein levels of factors in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) signaling pathway were determined by quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. A total of 52 compounds from Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction were predicted to be involved in the treatment of ALI, including β-sitosterol, emodin, stigmasterol, glabridin, and aloe-emodin, which corresponded to 112 targets,and 4 723 targets of ALI were predicted. The compounds and ALI shared 94 common targets. The key targets included TNF, IL-1β,prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2), and tumor protein 53(TP53). Lipids and atherosclerosis, p53 signaling pathway,IL-17 signaling pathway, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway were mainly involved in the treatment. Animal experiments showed that compared with the model group, Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction alleviated the pathological changes in the lung tissue, lowered the serum levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of PI3K, Akt, and mTOR, and reduced the p-PI3K/PI3K, p-Akt/Akt, and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios in ALI rats. The results showed that Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction exerted its therapeutic effects on ALI via multiple components, targets, and pathways. Meanwhile, Xuanbai Chengqi Decoction may reduce the inflammation and attenuate the lung injuries of ALI rats by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.