ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and mechanism of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix （Huzhang） in treating respiratory syncytial virus（RSV） infection by regulating pulmonary surfactant lipid homeostasis through lipidomics. MethodsSixty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， positive group（ribavirin group， 46 mg·kg^-1）， and low- and high-dose Huzhang groups（0.75， 2.25 g·kg^-1）， with 12 mice in each group. Except for the blank group， all other groups were infected with RSV via intranasal instillation. The drug intervention groups were given corresponding doses of drug by gavage for 3 consecutive days， while normal saline was used in the blank and model groups. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe pathological changes in mouse lung tissue. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） was employed to detect viral loads［RSV-nucleoprotein（N） and RSV-glycoprotein（G） mRNA］ and inflammatory factor levels［interleukin（IL）-1β and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α mRNA］ in the lung tissue. Mouse bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was collected to detect the levels of pulmonary surfactant lipids through ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS）， followed by principal component analysis and differential lipid identification. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group exhibited extensive inflammatory cell infiltration， congestion， and tissue damage in the lungs， and the pathological score and lung index of lung tissue significantly increased（P<0.01）， along with significantly elevated mRNA expressions of RSV-N， RSV-G， IL-1β， and TNF-α（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， different doses of Huzhang and ribavirin significantly reduced the pathological scores of the lung tissue and lung index（P<0.01）. In addition， the mRNA levels of RSV-N， RSV-G and TNF-α in the lungs significantly decreased in the Huzhang high dose group（P<0.01）. Lipidomics analysis identified multiple significantly changed differential metabolites. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed obvious abnormal lipid metabolism， which was manifested by the elevated levels of prostaglandin（PG）， ceramide（Cer）， phosphatidylcholine（PC）， phosphatidylethanolamine（PE）， phosphatidylinositol（PI）， sphingomyelin（SM）， and the decreased levels of diglycerides（DG） and acylethanolamine（NAE）. After the intervention of low dose of Huzhang， the above lipid metabolites showed a significant reversal trend， while the intervention of high dose of Huzhang could regulate levels of PI lipids， PG lipids and PC lipids. ConclusionHuzhang can significantly reduce the viral load of lung tissue and improve lung inflammation in RSV-infected mice. The underlying mechanism may be related to the maintenance of homeostasis in pulmonary surfactant lipids such as PI and PG.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and mechanism of Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix （Huzhang） in treating respiratory syncytial virus（RSV） infection by regulating pulmonary surfactant lipid homeostasis through lipidomics. MethodsSixty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the blank group， model group， positive group（ribavirin group， 46 mg·kg^-1）， and low- and high-dose Huzhang groups（0.75， 2.25 g·kg^-1）， with 12 mice in each group. Except for the blank group， all other groups were infected with RSV via intranasal instillation. The drug intervention groups were given corresponding doses of drug by gavage for 3 consecutive days， while normal saline was used in the blank and model groups. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe pathological changes in mouse lung tissue. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） was employed to detect viral loads［RSV-nucleoprotein（N） and RSV-glycoprotein（G） mRNA］ and inflammatory factor levels［interleukin（IL）-1β and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α mRNA］ in the lung tissue. Mouse bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was collected to detect the levels of pulmonary surfactant lipids through ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS）， followed by principal component analysis and differential lipid identification. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group exhibited extensive inflammatory cell infiltration， congestion， and tissue damage in the lungs， and the pathological score and lung index of lung tissue significantly increased（P<0.01）， along with significantly elevated mRNA expressions of RSV-N， RSV-G， IL-1β， and TNF-α（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， different doses of Huzhang and ribavirin significantly reduced the pathological scores of the lung tissue and lung index（P<0.01）. In addition， the mRNA levels of RSV-N， RSV-G and TNF-α in the lungs significantly decreased in the Huzhang high dose group（P<0.01）. Lipidomics analysis identified multiple significantly changed differential metabolites. Compared with the blank group， the model group showed obvious abnormal lipid metabolism， which was manifested by the elevated levels of prostaglandin（PG）， ceramide（Cer）， phosphatidylcholine（PC）， phosphatidylethanolamine（PE）， phosphatidylinositol（PI）， sphingomyelin（SM）， and the decreased levels of diglycerides（DG） and acylethanolamine（NAE）. After the intervention of low dose of Huzhang， the above lipid metabolites showed a significant reversal trend， while the intervention of high dose of Huzhang could regulate levels of PI lipids， PG lipids and PC lipids. ConclusionHuzhang can significantly reduce the viral load of lung tissue and improve lung inflammation in RSV-infected mice. The underlying mechanism may be related to the maintenance of homeostasis in pulmonary surfactant lipids such as PI and PG.

The prevalence of osteoporosis， osteoarthritis， gouty arthritis， rheumatoid arthritis， and intervertebral disc degeneration is increasing year by year with the growing number of elderly people， and the common clinical manifestations of these diseases include severe pain in different areas， which seriously affects the daily life of the patients. Therefore， how to relieve the pain and reduce the prevalence of bone and joint diseases and improve the quality of life of the patients is a hot spot in the medical field. Studies have confirmed that NOD-like receptor family， pyrin domain-containing protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasomes， as pattern recognition receptors， are involved in the inflammation， chondrocyte proliferation， osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation， intervertebral disc cell inflammation and scorching， extracellular matrix degradation and apoptosis， mitochondrial dysfunction， endoplasmic reticulum stress， and reactive oxygen species damage， demonstrating close link with the development of bone and joint diseases. Chinese medicine has a long history and demonstrates remarkable therapeutic effects in the treatment of bone and joint diseases. It can mitigate the pathological changes of bone and joint diseases by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes to alleviate the pain， playing a role in preventing and treating these diseases. Therefore， this paper briefly describes the relationship between NLRP3 inflammasomes and the development of bone and joint diseases by reviewing the latest research progress at home and abroad. We summarize the latest studies about the active components， extracts， and compound prescriptions of Chinese medicines in the treatment of bone and joint diseases via regulating NLRP3 inflammasomes. This review is expected to offer new insights into the in-depth research on the pathogenesis and drug treatment of bone and joint diseases and provide a basis for the clinical application of Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of such diseases.