Objective To explore the efficacy and mechanism of Daqinglong Decoction (大青龙汤) in inhibiting viral pneumonia in mice caused by influenza A virus (H1N1/PR8). Methods The main chemical components in Daqinglong Decoction were detected by UPLC-QE-HF-MS/MS. Mice were randomly divided into control group, model group, oseltamivir (27.5 mg/kg) group, Daqinglong Decoction high-, medium-, and low-dose (23.10, 11.55, 5.78 g/kg) groups. The model of pneumonia in mice caused by influenza A virus (H1N1/PR8) infection was established, after continuously administration for 4 d, the therapeutic effect of Daqinglong Decoction on viral pneumonia was evaluated by detecting the viral load of lungs, the levels of inflammatory factors in lung tissues, the percentage of peripheral blood lymphocytes, and the pathological structure and imaging of lungs. The mechanism was studied through proteomics and Western blotting. Results A total of 77 major chemical constituents in Daqinglong Decoction were identified. Compared with model group, Daqinglong Decoction significantly reduced the viral load of lung tissues (P < 0.01), decreased the level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in lung tissues (P < 0.05, 0.01), increased the percentage of CD4⁺ T cells in the peripheral blood (P < 0.05), markedly improved lung lesions, and significantly up-regulated the expression of nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5) and down-regulated the expression of tyrosine-protein kinase ZAP-70 (ZAP70) in lung tissues of infected mice (P < 0.05). Conclusion Daqinglong Decoction inhibited viral proliferation in lung tissues, decreased TNF-α expression, increased CD4⁺ T lymphocyte level and ameliorated lung lesions, and its mechanism of treating viral pneumonia was related to the modulation of NFAT5 and ZAP70 mediated T cell immunity.

proteomics  /  Daqinglong Decoction  /  viral pneumonia  /  T cell immunity  /  NFAT5  /  ZAP70