Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharides ameliorate acute lung injury by inhibiting the activation of multiple inflammasomes

Glycyrrhiza uralensis polysaccharides (GUP) has biological activities such as immune regulation, anti-tumor, and liver protection, and has good development prospects in the fields of medicines and health products, but its specific mechanism of action is not yet clear. In our study, we confirmed that GUP can effectively inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Mechanistically, GUP blocked the activation of the inflammasome by significantly inhibiting the oligomerization and speckle aggregation of the apoptosis-related protein ASC. In addition, GUP effectively ameliorated LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. Our findings indicate that the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) GUP has broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory effects and is a potential drug candidate for the treatment of inflammasome-related diseases.