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Received Nov 6, 2017; Accepted Jan 14, 2018
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1. Introduction
Acute lung injury (ALI) is an emergency and severe respiratory disease that results from various direct and indirect insults such as severe infection, trauma, shock, acidosis, and inhalation of harmful gases. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. ALI is characterized by acute hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral pulmonary infiltrates [1, 2]. The precise mechanisms underlying the cellular activation that results in ALI are poorly understood, which hinders the discovery of effective treatments [3].
Furthermore, increasing evidence shows that an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels affect the severity of ALI [3, 4]. Therefore, focusing on inhibiting inflammation may be a potential strategy in the prevention and treatment of ALI. Caveolin-1 is a cytoskeleton protein associated with the cell membrane that plays an important role in ALI-related inflammation [5]. It upregulates proinflammatory cytokine levels and inhibits nuclear factor- (NF-) κB and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways via interaction with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS).
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used in the treatment of diseases in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years. Qi-Dong-Huo-Xue-Yin (QDHXY), which is composed of Astragalus membranaceus, Radix Ophiopogonis, Polygonum cuspidatum, Angelica sinensis, and Rheum officinale, has been shown to have a notable effect on ALI. A previous study reported that this decoction protected the lung tissue of mice with ALI from inflammation [6]. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear.
In the present study, the effects of QDHXY on the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], granulocyte-macrophage CSF [GM-CSF], interferon- [IFN-] γ, interleukin- [IL-] 1β, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-15, IL-17, IFN-γ-induced protein 10 [IP-10], growth-regulated oncogene α [GROα]/keratinocyte chemoattractant [KC], monocyte chemotactic protein- [MCP-] 1, macrophage inflammatory protein- [MIP-] 1α, MIP-1β, regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted [RANTES], tumor necrosis factor- [TNF-] α) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-10 and IL-13) were investigated...