RESUMEN
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a common, lethal interstitial lung disease characterized by airway remodeling, inflammation, alveolar destruction, and fibrosis. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1/4E binding protein 1 (mTORC1/4E-BP1) axis is closely related to the expression of collagen by fibroblasts, and its role in pulmonary fibrosis remains to be further elucidated. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has shown promising efficacy in improving the lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients with IPF. The theory of "same treatment for different diseases" provides a TCM theoretical basis for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis with Bupleuri Radix, while the research in western medicine has preliminarily shown that both the formulation and single herb as well as the active ingredients of Bupleuri Radix have good therapeutic effects on pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, this review will elaborate on the role of the mTORC1/4E-BP1 axis in the pathomechanism of IPF, as well as the research results of the active components of Bupleuri Radix on the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin protein(PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway, so as to provide a reference for the treatment and drug development of IPF.
RESUMEN
There exists many kinds and a huge number of terpenoid in medicinal plants, which show a wide range of pharmacological activities. 3-Hydroxy-3-metllylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase(HMGR) is a key rate-limiting enzyme in terpenoid biosynthetic pathway . HMGR plays an important role in the regulation of secondary metabolism of the terpenoid. The paper summarized the biological function and the catalytic mechanism of HMGR, the cloning and the structure of the gene as well as its research progress in some medicinal plants.