Feilike mixture targeting the STAT1-NLRP3 axis represses the pyroptosis of epithelial cells to alleviate Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

BACKGROUND

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) is one of the most important pathogens causing respiratory tract infections in children. Feilike mixture (FLKM), as a classical traditional Chinese medicine serving as an ancillary treatment for pneumonia, has not yet been fully elucidated regarding its specific mechanisms in disease therapy. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanism of FLKM in the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP).

METHODS

First, we investigated the effect of FLKM on reducing the inflammatory response induced by MP infection. Subsequently, we explored the impact of key genes targeted by FLKM on inflammatory responses induced by MP infection via network pharmacology in conjunction with flow cytometry, ELISA, and CCK8. Moreover, further studies on the underlying molecular mechanisms involved were conducted through the integration of bioinformatics techniques with dual luciferase assays and ChIP experiments.

RESULTS

The results proved that FLKM could alleviate MPP. The FLKM's effect on MPP was mainly due to its targeted function on signal transduction and transcriptional activator 1 (STAT1), which repressed the activation of NOD-like receptor heat protein domain protein 3 (NLRP3) to curb the pyroptosis of epithelial cells and finally relieved the lung inflammation caused by MP infection.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study demonstrated that FLKM can repress pyroptosis of epithelial cells and alleviate MPP by targeting the STAT1-NLRP3 axis.