Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represent a significant global burden of morbidity and mortality, with lung injury being the primary cause of death in affected patients. The pathogenesis of lung injury, however, remains a complex issue. In recent years, the role of the immune system in lung injury has attracted extensive attention worldwide. Despite advancements in our understanding of various lung injury subtypes, significant limitations persist in both prevention and treatment. This review investigates the immunopathogenesis of ALI/ARDS, aiming to elucidate the pathological processes of lung injury mediated by dendritic cells (DCs), natural killer (NK) cells, phagocytes, and neutrophils. Furthermore, the article expounds on the critical contributions of gut microbiota, inflammatory pathways, and cytokine storms in the development of ALI/ARDS.

Various studies are being conducted on oncolytic virotherapy which one of the mechanisms is mediating interferon (IFN) production by it exerts antitumor effects. The antiviral effect of IFN itself has a negative impact on the inhibition of oncolytic virus or tumor eradication. Therefore, it is very critical to understand the mechanism of IFN regulation by oncolytic viruses, and to define its mechanism is of great significance for improving the antitumor effect of oncolytic viruses. This review focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of IFNs by various oncolytic viruses and their combination therapies. In addition, the exerting and the producing pathways of IFNs are briefly summarized, and some current issues are put forward.

Immunotherapy is one of the promising strategies in the treatment of oncology. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, as a type of immunotherapy, have no significant efficacy in the clinical treatment of patients with pMMR/MSS/MSI-L mCRC alone. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find combination therapies that can improve the response rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Oncolytic viruses are a new class of cancer drugs that, in addition to directly lysing tumor cells, can facilitate the action of immune checkpoint inhibitors by modulating the tumor microenvironment and transforming “cold” tumors into “hot” ones. The combination of oncolytic viruses and immune checkpoint inhibitors is currently being used in several primary and clinical studies to treat tumors with exciting results. The combination of genetically modified “armed” OV with ICIs is expected to be one of the treatment options for pMMR/MSS/MSI-L mCRC. In this paper, we will analyze the current status of oncolytic viruses and ICIs available for the treatment of CRC. The feasibility of OV in combination with ICI for CRC will be discussed in terms of the mechanism of action of OV in treating tumors.

Novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is spreading worldwide, causing great harm and stress to humans. Since patients with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have a high probability of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severe cases, the pathways through which SARS-CoV-2 causes lung injury have become a major concern in the scientific field. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and lung injury and explore the possible mechanisms of COVID-19 in ARDS from the perspectives of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 protein, cytokine storm, activation of the immune response, triggering of Fas/FasL signaling pathway to promote apoptosis, JAK/STAT pathway, NF-κB pathway, type I interferon, vitamin D, and explore the possibility of prevention and treatment of COVID-19. To explore the possibility of SARS-CoV-2, and to provide new ideas to stop the development of ARDS in COVID-19 patients.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been utilized for the treatment of colon cancer. Qizhen decoction (QZD), a potential compound prescription of TCM, possesses multiple biological activities. It has been proven clinically effective in the treatment of colon cancer. However, the molecular mechanism of anticolon cancer activity is still not clear. This study aimed to identify the chemical composition of QZD. Furthermore, a collaborative analysis strategy of network pharmacology and cell biology was used to further explore the critical signaling pathway of QZD anticancer activity. First, ultraperformance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (UPLC–Q-TOF/MS) was performed to identify the chemical composition of QZD. Then, the chemical composition database of QZD was constructed based on a systematic literature search and review of chemical constituents. Moreover, the common and indirect targets of chemical components of QZD and colon cancer were searched by multiple databases. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the String database (https://www.string-db.org/). All of the targets were analyzed by Gene Oncology (GO) bioanalysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and the visual network topology diagram of “Prescription–TCM–Chemical composition–Direct target–Indirect target–Pathway” was constructed by Cytoscape software (v3.7.1). The top molecular pathway ranked by statistical significance was further verified by molecular biology methods. The results of UPLC–Q-TOF/MS showed that QZD had 111 kinds of chemical components, of which 103 were unique components and 8 were common components. Ten pivotal targets of QZD in the treatment of colon cancer were screened by the PPI network. Targets of QZD involve many biological processes, such as the signaling pathway, immune system, gene expression, and so on. QZD may interfere with biological pathways such as cell replication, oxygen-containing compounds, or organic matter by protein binding, regulation of signal receptors or enzyme binding, and affect cytoplasm and membrane-bound organelles. The main antitumor core pathways were the apoptosis metabolic pathway, the PI3K–Akt signal pathway, and so on. Expression of the PI3K–Akt signal pathway was significantly downregulated after the intervention of QZD, which was closely related to the inhibition of proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells by cell biology methods. The present work may facilitate a better understanding of the effective components, therapeutic targets, biological processes, and signaling pathways of QZD in the treatment of colon cancer and provide useful information about the utilization of QZD.

Metabolic reprogramming is one of the most prominent features underlying cancer cells progression and metastasis.Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the clinical treatment of cancer, with the advantages of multi-pathway, multi-target, multi-component anti-tumor pharmacological effects and low risk of adverse effects. However, the mechanisms underlying the anti-tumor effects of TCM are not fully understood, especially on cellular metabolic reprogramming. In this review, we summarize the role of glucose, lipid and amino acid metabolism in cancer metastasis, which is key in cancer cells and tumor micro-environment (TME) cell metabolism. Furthermore, we reviewed the potential mechanisms by which, most bioactive TCM compounds suppress cancer metastasis by regulating metabolic reprogramming and the possibility of sensitizing other anti-tumor drugs. TCM and its bioactive compounds have huge prospects for clinical application in the treatment of cancer metastasis. Unfortunately, little is currently known about the regulatory effects of Chinese herbal medicines and their bioactive compounds on the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells and the combination therapy for cancers. This review provides novel insights into the regulation of metabolic reprogramming by TCM in combination with other anti-tumor drugs against cancer metastasis and the possibility of becoming sensitizers for other anti-tumor drugs.