Research progress on the regulation of signal pathways related to lung injury in sepsis by the active components of traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection，with resulting organ dysfunction being the key factor in mortality. The lung is one of the organs most frequently affected by sepsis. Recent studies have shown that active components of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）can exert anti⁃inflammatory，anti⁃oxidative stress，anti⁃pyroptosis，and anti⁃ferroptosis effects by regulating signaling pathways such as Toll⁃like receptor 4（TLR4）/nuclear factor κB（NF⁃κB），mitogen⁃activated protein kinase（MAPK），NOD⁃like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3（NLRP3）/caspase⁃1，phosphatidylinositol 3⁃kinase/protein kinase B，and nuclear factor E2⁃related factor 2/heme oxygenase⁃1，thereby alleviating sepsis⁃induced lung injury. This article reviews the mechanisms of these signaling pathways in sepsis⁃induced lung injury and the research progress on TCM active components in regulating these pathways for the treatment of sepsis⁃induced lung injury. It is concluded that TCM has advantages of multi⁃components，multi⁃targets，and overall regulation，showing significant therapeutic effects and promising research prospects. In the future，the scope of research on TCM in regulating disease targets and mechanisms should be expanded to further explore its mechanisms and therapeutic potential，providing theoretical foundations and empirical references for the clinical diagnosis andtreatment of critical illnesses