{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T21:32:35Z","timestamp":1769808755814,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008903","name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOHW113-NRICM-M-315-000004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOHW113-NRICM-M-315-000004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008903","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008903","name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MOHW114-NRICM-M-315-000004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MOHW114-NRICM-M-315-000004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008903","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive inflammatory lung disorder with limited effective therapies. NRICM102, a traditional multi-herbal formulation originally developed for COVID-19, exhibits anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of NRICM102 in a COPD-relevant inflammatory lung injury mice model. Methods: Mice were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) to induce chronic airway inflammation and structural lung damage and treated with NRICM102 (1.5\u20133.0 g\/kg) or dexamethasone. Lung function, histopathology, transcriptomic profiling, and protein expression of key inflammatory markers were assessed. Results: NRICM102 significantly restored LPS+B[a]P-induced enhanced pause (Penh) and arterial oxygen saturation (aO2%), similar to the effect of dexamethasone. Histological analysis revealed marked alveolar damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and fibrosis in the model group, all of which were significantly attenuated by NRICM102 in a dose-dependent manner, with high-dose (3.0 g\/kg) treatment showing pronounced structural preservation. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that NRICM102, particularly at 3.0 g\/kg, partially reversed COPD-associated gene expression patterns, characterized by reduced activation of cytokine signaling, chemokine activity, and antigen presentation pathways. GO, DO, and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated selective modulation of immune-related pathways, with high-dose NRICM102 affecting genes involved in adaptive immunity and cytokine receptor interactions, including a subset of 150 reverted genes. Immunofluorescence analysis confirmed dose-dependent reductions in key inflammatory, immune, and mucus-related markers, including IL-1\u03b2, NLRP3, Muc5ac, and MMP12 expression. Conclusions: NRICM102 confers significant protective effects against COPD-relevant inflammatory lung injury by improving pulmonary function, preserving lung architecture, and selectively modulating immune and inflammatory pathways. These results provide preclinical evidence supporting the potential of NRICM102 to modulate inflammation and immune responses associated with COPD-related pathology, although further studies are needed to establish its therapeutic relevance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph19020199","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T17:52:38Z","timestamp":1769190758000},"page":"199","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["NRICM102, a TCM Formula, Attenuates COPD-Relevant Inflammatory Lung Injury in Mice by Improving Pulmonary Function and Reversing Immune Dysregulation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Yuh-Chiang","family":"Shen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science, Taipei City 112303, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4981-1528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kuo-Tong","family":"Liou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City 252005, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Chinese Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City 114202, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yea-Hwey","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Science, Taipei City 112303, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Geng-You","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112304, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wen-Chi","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cher-Chia","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"Institute of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112304, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5022-0149","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wen-Fei","family":"Chiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8277-9174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Keng-Chang","family":"Tsai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"Ph.D. Program in Medical Biotechnology, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City 110301, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1402-1809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chun-Tang","family":"Chiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-0863-3222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yaw-Dong","family":"Lang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City 110301, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5642-4679","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chia-Ching","family":"Liaw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 600355, Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112304, Taiwan"},{"name":"Graduate Institute of Natural Products, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807378, Taiwan"},{"name":"School of Chinese Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei City 112304, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yi-Chang","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei City 112026, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1183\/13993003.01653-2015","article-title":"Incidence and prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in US adults 18\u201364 years old","volume":"48","author":"Raghu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eur. 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