Underlying Mechanisms of Lung Endothelial Cell Involvement in Inflammatory Immune Response in Lung Diseases and Potential Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Review

In recent years, the incidence of complications and mortality related to various lung diseases has escalated significantly. These ailments have become a major public health burden worldwide. The lung endothelium plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis and development of lung diseases. In these conditions, the immune response of the pulmonary endothelium can be activated through various mechanisms. It is capable of identifying pathogens or damaged cells by means of specific receptors, subsequently initiating a cascade of immune responses, including the recruitment of immune cells and the secretion of cytokines. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contains a wealth of active components, such as terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, and others. These active components may act on the pulmonary endothelium in different ways. TCM compound, which is a combination of multiple herbs in TCM, may have a synergistic effect when acting on the pulmonary endothelium. It can enhance the overall effect through multiple targets and multiple pathways, thus better promoting the repair and normalization of pulmonary endothelium function. Keywords including 'lung disease', 'lung endothelium and immunity', and 'traditional Chinese medicine' were utilized. The databases employed encompass Pubmed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, among others, and relevant literatures published within the past 10 years have been searched. This review mainly involves two parts: first, we reviewed the immune and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of pulmonary endothelium in lung diseases; second, we in - depth discussed the active components of TCM and the mechanism of TCM compound acting on pulmonary endothelium. This will help researchers better understand how to use TCM to intervene in lung diseases from the perspective of pulmonary endothelium - related mechanisms, and also provide theoretical support for clinical practice in the future.