Fuzhengjiedu formula exerts protective effect against LPS-induced acute lung injury via gut-lung axis.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is distinguished by rapid and severe respiratory distress and prolonged hypoxemia. A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), known as the Fuzhengjiedu formula (FZJDF), has been shown to have anti-inflammatory benefits in both clinical and experimental studies. The precise underlying processes, nevertheless, are yet unclear.

Purpose: This study sought to enlighten the protective mechanism of FZJDF in ALI through the standpoint of the gut-lung crosstalk.

Methods: The impact of FZJDF on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI murine model were investigated, and the lung injury score, serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression were measured to confirm its anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, gut microbiota analysis and serum and fecal samples metabolomics were performed using metagenomic sequencing and high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, respectively.

Results: FZJDF significantly induced histopathological changes caused by LPS-induced ALI as well as downregulated the serum concentration of IL-1β and TNF-α. Furthermore, FZJDF had an effect in gut microbiota disturbances, and linear discriminant effect size analysis identified signal transduction, cell motility, and amino acid metabolism as the potential mechanisms of action in the FZJDF-treated group. Several metabolites in the LPS and FZJDF groups were distinguished by untargeted metabolomic analysis. Correlations were observed between the relative abundance of microbiota and metabolic products. Comprehensive network analysis revealed connections among lung damage, gut microbes, and metabolites. The expression of glycine, serine, glutamate, cysteine, and methionine in the lung and colon tissues was dysregulated in LPS-induced ALI, and FZJDF reversed these trends.

Conclusion: This study revealed that FZJDF considerably protected against LPS-induced ALI in mice by regulating amino acid metabolism via the gut-microbiota-lung axis and offered thorough and in-depth knowledge of the multi-system linkages of systemic illnesses.