Unlocking the gut-lung axis: Feixin decoction as a novel modulator in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension

Feixin decoction (FXD) is an effective traditional Chinese medicine prescription for treating chronic pulmonary heart disease and hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH), However, the pharmacological mechanism of FXD in preventing HPH remains unclear.

This study aimed to evaluate the preventive and therapeutic effect of FXD on HPH and confirm the association between HPH, gut microbiota, and FXD.

Multiple in vivo animal models were used, including HPH rat models, microbiota depletion models, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) models. The HPH phenotype was evaluated through: right heart catheterization for hemodynamic parameters, doppler echocardiography for cardiac function assessment, hematoxylin-eosin staining for histopathological examination, and immunofluorescence labeling for specific protein expression analysis. Concurrently, transmission electron microscopy was utilized to observe the ultrastructure of the intestinal barrier, combined with immunofluorescence to examine the distribution characteristics of tight junction proteins. To elucidate the mechanism by which HPH ameliorates gut microbiota dysbiosis and associated metabolites, the study integrated 16S rRNA sequencing for microbiota composition analysis, dual-platform untargeted metabolomics for differential metabolite screening, and targeted metabolomics for quantitative validation.

FXD exhibited significant therapeutic effects in HPH rats, ameliorating pulmonary vascular remodeling, attenuating right ventricular hypertrophy, reducing systemic inflammation, and restoring intestinal barrier function. Additionally, FXD partially restored intestinal ecological balance by enriching beneficial species (Lactobacillus and Lactobacillus johnsonii) while reducing pathogenic genera (Escherichia-Shigella and Helicobacter rodentium). Concurrently, FXD treatment induced favorable metabolic alterations, characterized by elevated levels of beneficial metabolites including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), along with reduced concentrations of pro-inflammatory 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). Gut microbiota depletion and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) studies established that FXD's therapeutic effects on HPH are mediated through gut microbiota modulation. Mechanistic investigations revealed that this protection likely involves inhibition of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. In vitro studies further corroborated these findings, showing that FXD-enriched metabolites potently suppressed abnormal proliferation, migration and apoptosis in human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs). Notably, EPA, the most significantly increased metabolite, specifically attenuates hypoxia-induced HPASMCs proliferation by interfering with the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling axis.

Our study confirms that FXD alleviates HPH by regulating gut microbiota and its associated metabolites and validates the potential of FXD as a gut microbiota modulator and an HPH treatment, thereby providing a new therapeutic strategy to improve treatment efficacy.