Polysaccharide from Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg attenuates Poly(I:C)-induced acute lung injury by preserving epithelial barrier integrity and modulating STING/TBK1-NF-κB and IRF1-STAT1 signaling.
Zhao M, Jin C, Xu J, Wang H, Huang S
Plant Medicine
PubMedIt shows that a plant used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to treat coughs and pneumonia actually contains compounds that could lead to new treatments for severe viral lung infections — the kind that make flu and COVID-19 so dangerous.
Researchers took a sugar-based compound from a climbing vine traditionally used in southern China to treat fevers and lung problems, and tested it in mice with a condition mimicking viral lung damage. The compound calmed the immune system's overreaction — the 'cytokine storm' that causes so much damage in severe respiratory illness — while also keeping the delicate lining of the lungs intact. This two-pronged action suggests the plant holds real promise as a basis for future lung-protective medicines.
Key Findings
Pretreatment with STHP-5 at doses of 1–4 mg/kg significantly reduced lung inflammation, fluid accumulation, and cell death in mice exposed to a viral mimic (Poly I:C)
STHP-5 suppressed two key immune signaling pathways (STING/TBK1/NF-κB and IRF1/STAT1) that drive the inflammatory overreaction responsible for acute lung injury
The compound protected lung epithelial cells by preserving tight-junction proteins and reducing oxidative stress, keeping the lung barrier physically intact
chevron_right Technical Summary
A polysaccharide extract from a Chinese medicinal vine called Tetrastigma hemsleyanum significantly reduced lung inflammation and tissue damage in mice exposed to a virus-mimicking compound, working by calming immune overreaction and protecting the lung's protective cell lining.
Abstract Preview
Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg, traditionally used in southern China to treat fever, cough, and pneumonia, is a well-known ethnomedicinal plant. Polysaccharides extracted from its abovegroun...
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Tetrastigma is a genus of plants in the grape family, Vitaceae. The plants are lianas that climb with tendrils and have palmately compound leaves. Plants are dioecious, with separate male and female plants; female flowers are characterized by their four-lobed stigmas. The species are found in sub...