Herbal inhibitors of SARS‐CoV‐2 M^pro effectively ameliorate acute lung injury in mice

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019, a newly emerging serious infectious disease, has spread worldwide. To date, effective drugs against the disease are limited. Traditional Chinese medicine was commonly used in treating COVID‐19 patients in China. Here we tried to identify herbal effective lipid compounds from the lipid library of 92 heat‐clearing and detoxication Chinese herbs. Through virtual screening, enzymatic activity and inhibition assays, and surface plasmon resonance tests, we identified lipid compounds targeting the main protease (M pro ) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and verified their functions. Here, we found that natural lipid compounds LPC (14:0/0:0) and LPC (16:0/0:0) could target SARS‐CoV‐2 M pro , recover cell death induced by SARS‐CoV‐2, and ameliorate acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharides and virus poly (I:C) mimics in vivo and in vitro. Our results suggest that LPC (14:0/0:0) and LPC (16:0/0:0) might be potential pan remedy against ARDS.

Protective effects of yeast extract against alcohol-induced liver injury in rats

“…Lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0/0:0) ( Figure 7A ), which is present in the phospholipid biosynthesis pathway, was also significantly increased. It has been confirmed to alleviate lung injury of acute respiratory distress syndrome by down-regulating the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, as well as by reducing neutrophil infiltration ( Du et al, 2022 ). This suggests that lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0/0:0) has certain anti-inflammatory effects.…”

One-Health meets microbiota: Interactions between digestive tract microbiota, host, and environment

“…Lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0/0:0) (Figure 7A), which is present in the phospholipid biosynthesis pathway, was also significantly increased. It has been confirmed to alleviate lung injury of acute respiratory distress syndrome by down-regulating the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, as well as by reducing neutrophil infiltration (Du et al, 2022). This suggests that lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0/0:0) has certain antiinflammatory effects.…”

“…The NDF content of silage was reduced (p < 0.05) with the LP + LB treatments. Similarly, Du et al (2022) reported that the content of NDF in ryegrass silage inoculated with L. plantarum, L. buchneri and L. casei was reduced after 60 days of ensiling. When ensiled for 30 days, the PA and LP + PA treatments had a lesser (p < 0.05) NDF content than CK.…”

The potential mechanism of Choulingdan mixture in improving acute lung injury based on HPLC–Q‐TOF–MS, network pharmacology and in vivo experiments

“…Severe cases can develop into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with a mortality rate of 30–40% (Guo et al, 2021; Wang, Sun, et al, 2021). Under the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID‐19) situation, ARDS caused by ALI has emerged as a global public health problem (Du et al, 2022). Currently, mechanical ventilation and glucocorticoids are used in clinical practice to treat patients with ALI (Diaz et al, 2010).…”