[Mechanism of action of steamed Polygonati Rhizoma in ameliorating pulmonary fibrosis in mice based on PI3K/AKT signaling pathway].

This paper aims to investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of steamed Polygonati Rhizoma on pulmonary fibrosis in mice. A mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis was established and treated with steamed Polygonati Rhizoma water decoction by gavage. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated through histopathological observation of lung tissue, assessment of fibrosis severity, determination of lung hydroxyproline(HYP) content, and measurement of inflammatory cytokines(IL-1β and TNF-α) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The targets of active components in steamed Polygonati Rhizoma were predicted using the Swiss Target Prediction database. Disease-related targets of pulmonary fibrosis were obtained from the GeneCard and OMIM databases, followed by intersection analysis with the targets of active components using the Venny 2.1.0 platform. The target network and protein-protein interaction(PPI) network were constructed. Key pathways were screened through KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The expression levels of collagen Ⅰ, fibronectin, phosphorylated AKT(p-AKT), and phosphorylated PI3K(p-PI3K) proteins in lung tissue were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot. RESULTS:: show that a total of 12 active components and 319 predicted targets were screened from Polygonati Rhizoma. After intersecting with 6 308 pulmonary fibrosis-related targets, 245 common targets were obtained. KEGG enrichment analysis identified the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway as the core pathway. In vivo experiments confirmed that steamed Polygonati Rhizoma significantly alleviated pathological damage in the lung tissue, reduced HYP content, suppressed inflammatory cytokine levels, and down-regulated the expression levels of collagen Ⅰ and fibronectin. Flavonoid components, such as 4',5-dihydroxyflavone and baicalein, were speculated to be potentially associated with these therapeutic effects. These findings indicate that steamed Polygonati Rhizoma exerts anti-pulmonary fibrosis effects by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway via its active flavonoid components, thereby ameliorating pulmonary inflammation and collagen deposition.