Effect fraction of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb.f. alleviates LPS-induced acute lung injury by inhibiting p47/NOX2 and promoting the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Background & Aims: The effect fraction of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb.f. (EFBS), a phenolic-rich extract, has significant protective effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI), but its composition and molecular mechanisms are unclear. This study elucidated its chemical composition and possible protective mechanisms against LPS-induced ALI from an antioxidant perspective.

Methods: EFBS was prepared by ethanol extraction, enriched by polyamide column chromatography, and characterized using ultra-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The LPS-induced ALI model and the RAW264.7 model were used to evaluate the regulatory effects of EFBS on oxidative stress, and transcriptome analysis was performed to explore its possible molecular mechanism. Then, the pathway by which EFBS regulates oxidative stress was validated through inhibitor intervention, flow cytometry, quantitative PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence techniques.

Results: A total of 22 compounds in EFBS were identified. The transcriptome analyses of RAW264.7 cells indicated that EFBS might reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by inhibiting the p47/NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) pathway and upregulating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. Both in vitro and in vivo data confirmed that EFBS significantly inhibited the expression and phosphorylation of p47 protein, thereby weakening the p47/NOX2 pathway and reducing ROS production. EFBS significantly increased the expression of Nrf2 in primary peritoneal macrophages and lung tissue and promoted its nuclear translocation, dose-dependent increase in HO-1 levels, and enhancement of antioxidant activity. In vitro, both Nrf2 and HO-1 inhibitors significantly reduced the scavenging effects of EFBS on ROS, further confirming that EFBS exerts antioxidant effects at least partially by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Conclusions: EFBS contains abundant phenanthrenes and dibenzyl polyphenols, which can reduce ROS production by inhibiting the p47/NOX2 pathway and enhance ROS clearance activity by upregulating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, thereby exerting regulatory effects on oxidative stress and improving LPS-induced ALI.