矽肺是由吸入游离二氧化硅引起的一种重要职业病，其特征是持续性肺部炎症、随后的纤维化和肺功能障碍。由于发病机制的复杂性，迄今为止，该病尚无有效的治疗方法。发酵冬虫夏草粉（FCP）具有与天然冬虫夏草相似的补肺补肾功效。已开始用于矽肺的辅助治疗。本研究旨在验证FCP对矽肺的保护作用，并探讨其相关机制。将Wistar大鼠随机分为四组，即盐水滴注组、二氧化硅暴露组、二氧化硅  FCP（300 mg/kg）组组和二氧化硅  FCP (600 mg/kg) 组。通过气管内滴注二氧化硅（50 毫克）构建矽肺大鼠模型。 FCP干预组大鼠每天灌胃相应剂量的FCP。治疗后第7、28和56天处死大鼠，收集样本进行进一步分析。FCP干预减少了炎症细胞的浸润以及白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）、白细胞介素6（IL-6）的浓度、肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α) 和转化生长因子-β1 (TGF-β1) 在第 7、28、56 天时增加，并降低胶原蛋白、α-平滑肌肌动蛋白 (α-SMA) 和纤连蛋白的表达。 FN）在第28天和第56天在硅肺病大鼠的肺中。 FCP还降低了第7、28、56天Th1和Th17的免疫反应，并抑制了第56天Th2反应的增强。FCP干预可以减轻二氧化硅诱导的肺部炎症和纤维化，其保护作用可能是通过减少Th1来实现的和 Th17 免疫反应并抑制 Th2 反应的增强。© 2023。国际中医药与生物医学中心有限公司。

Silicosis is an important occupational disease caused by inhalation of free silica and is characterized by persistent pulmonary inflammation, subsequent fibrosis and lung dysfunction. Until now, there has been no effective treatment for the disease due to the complexity of pathogenesis. Fermented cordyceps powder (FCP) has a similar effect to natural cordyceps in tonifying the lung and kidney. It has started to be used in the adjuvant treatment of silicosis. This work aimed to verify the protective effects of FCP against silicosis, and to explore the related mechanism.Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups including the saline-instilled group, the silica-exposed group, the silica + FCP (300 mg/kg) group and the silica + FCP (600 mg/kg) group. Silicosis rat models were constructed by intratracheal instillation of silica (50 mg). Rats in the FCP intervention groups received the corresponding dose of FCP daily by intragastric gavage. Rats were sacrificed on days 7, 28 and 56 after treatment, then samples were collected for further analysis.FCP intervention reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells and the concentration of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) at days 7, 28, 56, and decreased the expression of collagen, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibronectin (FN) at days 28 and 56 in the lung of silicosis rats. FCP also decreased the immune response of Th1 and Th17 at days 7, 28, 56 and inhibited the enhancement of the Th2 response at day 56.FCP intervention could alleviate silica-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis, the protective effect may be achieved by reducing Th1 and Th17 immune responses and inhibiting the enhancement of the Th2 response.© 2023. International Society for Chinese Medicine and BioMed Central Ltd.