Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang Attenuates Sepsis-induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome via Regulating Extracellular Histone Acetyltransferases/Histone Deacetylases Balance

OBJECTIVE To explore the specific action mechanism of Xiao-Qing-Long-Tang(XQLT) in the treatment of mice suffering from sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).

METHODS Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture(CLP) in BALB/c mice. Histone acetyltransferase(HAT) and histone deacetylase(HDAC) activities were detected by kits respectively. Western blotting was used to analyze acetyl histone H3, apoptosis-related proteins, HDAC2, HDAC7 and HDAC8 expression in lung tissue of mice. The concentrations of sepsis-related cellular factors were examined using ELISA. qRT-PCR identified sepsis-related cellular factor levels in the mouse blood, HDAC expression and apoptosis-related protein expression in mouse lung tissue. Lung tissue sections were stained with HE for the observation of pathological condition.

RESULTS XQLT attenuated decline in HAT activity and acetyl histone H3 content, facilitated HDAC activity, suppressed concentration of sepsis-related cellular factors, alleviated lung injury and lung cell apoptosis in CLP mice. The promotion of XQLT on acetyl histone H3 expression and its mitigative effect on the lung injury as well as lung cell apoptosis were overturned by HDAC2 overexpression.

CONCLUSION XQLT attenuated sepsis-induced ARDS via regulating extracellular HATs/HDACs balance.