Traditional Chinese Medicine Intervention on Th17/Treg Balance in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）， a common clinical chronic respiratory disease， has a long course and is intractable. It is closely related to many factors， such as immune imbalance. Helper T cell 17 （Th17）， an immune-promoting cell， and regulatory T cell （Treg）， an immunosuppressive cell， maintain the balance of the immune microenvironment together. In the course of COPD， the proportion of Th17 cells usually increases， while the proportion of Tregs that inhibit Th17 activity decreases. Their coordination and balance are critical in the inflammatory and immune processes of COPD. At present， COPD is mainly treated with nasal inhalation preparations and oral drugs by western medicine. In spite of a certain therapeutic effect， side effects of drugs and heavy economic burden are becoming increasingly prominent. Modern research shows that traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has the characteristics of few side effects， stable curative effect， and multi-target regulation， and it is advantageous and promising in the prevention and treatment of COPD. In recent years， a large number of TCM clinical and experimental trials on the intervention of Th17/Treg balance in COPD have been launched. Substantial pieces of evidence confirm that the intervention of Th17/Treg balance is an important potential target of TCM in the treatment of COPD. This study reviewed the previous research on the intervention effect of single Chinese medicine， effective components of Chinese medicine， and Chinese medicinal compound on Th17/Treg balance in COPD to comprehensively reveal the potential target of Th17/Treg balance in COPD for clinicians and scientific researchers， promote relevant research， and provide references for the rational application of TCM in the prevention and treatment of COPD.