Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that causes
pneumonia and
bronchitis, mostly in infants. Our previous study showed that Jinxin oral liquid (JOL), derived from
traditional Chinese medicine, had anti-inflammatory and
therapeutic effects on RSV-related
pneumonia. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of these effects. During a
viral infection, including
RSV infection, the
inflammasome pathway is excessively activated, resulting in an inflammatory reaction and severe tissue damage. Inhibition of the
inflammasome pathway has shown good
therapeutic effects on
lung inflammation. In the present study, we explored the effect of JOL on RSV-induced excessive
inflammation in BALB/c mice. Pathological evaluation of lung tissue and measurement of the lung index showed that JOL alleviated lung
infection and tissue injury induced by RSV. The
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay showed that JOL reduced the release of inflammatory factors, including interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-18(IL-18) and interleukin-33(IL-33), in the serum and lung homogenate of RSV-infected mice. Furthermore, the results of real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blot analyses showed that JOL inhibited the immune inflammatory response of mice infected with RSV through blockade of the
NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)/apoptosis-associated speck-like
protein containing a caspase recruitment domain(ASC)/
Caspase-1 signalling pathway, as evidenced by the down regulation of the
mRNA and
protein expression of three key components in the pathway. Collectively, our results showed that JOL inhibited
pulmonary inflammation caused by
RSV infection. Thus, JOL may be a promising remedy for
lung inflammation caused by
RSV infection and may help avoid lung tissue damage.