A novel pulmonary fibrosis murine model with immune-related liver injury

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF),characterized by aggravated alveolar destruc-tion and fibrotic matrix deposition,tendentiously experiences the stage called acute exacerbation IPF(AE-IPF)and progresses to multiple organ damage,especially liver injury.Recent studies have found a variety of immune microenvironment disorders associated with elevated IPF risk and secondary organ injury,whereas current animal models induced with bleomycin(BLM)could not completely reflect the pathologi-cal manifestations of AE-IPF patients in clinic,and the exact underlying mechanisms are not yet fully explored.In the current study,we established an AE-IPF model by tracheal administration of a single dose of BLM and then repeated administrations of lipopolysaccharide in mice.This mouse model successfully recapitulated the clinical features of AE-IPF,including excessive intrapulmonary inflammation and fibrosis and extrapulmonary manifestations,as indicated by significant upregulation of Il6,Tnfa,Il1b,Tgfb,fibronectin,and Col1a1 in both lungs and liver and elevated serum aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels.These effects might be attributed to the regulation of Th17 cells.By sharing this novel murine model,we expect to pro-vide an appropriate experimental platform to investigate the pathogenesis of AE-IPF coupled with liver injury and contribute to the discovery and development of targeted interventions.

New insights for infection mechanism and potential targets of COVID-19:Three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas as promising therapeutic approaches

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)with high pathogenicity and infectiousness has become a sudden and lethal pandemic worldwide.Currently,there is no accepted specific drug for COVID-19 treatment.Therefore,it is extremely urgent to clarify the pathogenic mechanism and develop effective therapies for patients with COVID-19.According to several reliable reports from China,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),especially for three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas,has been demonstrated to effectively alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19 either used alone or in combination with Western medicines.In this review,we systematically summarized and analyzed the pathogenesis of COVID-19,the detailed clinical practice,active ingredients investigation,network pharmacology prediction and underlying mechanism verification of three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas in the COVID-19 combat.Additionally,we summarized some promising and high-frequency drugs of these prescriptions and discussed their regulatory mechanism,which provides guidance for the development of new drugs against COVID-19.Collectively,by addressing critical challenges,for example,unclear targets and complicated active ingredients of these medicines and formulas,we believe that TCM will represent promising and efficient strategies for curing COVID-19 and related pandemics.