TABLE 3.

The ameliorative effect of berberine on sepsis and viral infections.

Experimental model	Role of berberine	Molecular mechanism involeves	Outcome of the study	References
LPS-induced ALI C57BL/6 mice	Anti-inflammatory; Protected against lung injury	Inhibition of p-NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway; Blocking effects of NLRP3	Suppressed IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, TNF-α; Promoted IL-10	Chen et al. (2022)
LPS-induced endotoxemic BALB/c mice	Anti-inflammatory, Reduced the severity of organ injury	Activation of AMPK-P38/MAPK; Inhibition of p-P65,p-IκBα,	Suppressed HMGB1; Reduced iNOS	Lee et al. (2017)
LPS plus D-galactosamine-induced sepsis C57BL/6 mice	Anti-inflammatory; Protected against ALI; Improved the survival rate of septic mice	Inhibition of p-IKKα/β, p-IκB, P65; Inhibition of p-STAT3, KIF4, Myc	Suppressed IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α	Wang et al. (2020)
CLP-induced SAE C57BL/6 mice	Anti-inflammatory; Antioxidant; Alleviated sepsis-induced cognitive impairment	Inhibition of HMGB1/RAGE signaling	Reduced expression of TNF-α, IL-1α	Shi et al. (2021)
CS-induced NS C57BL/6 mice	Anti-inflammatory; Increased the survival rates; Reduced the intestinal injurie	Increase the level of miR-132-3p;Inhibition of FOXA1, p-IκBα,P65	Suppressed IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α	Li et al., 2021
CLP-induced polymicrobial sepsis SD rats	Anti-inflammatory; Attenuated tissue injury	Reduced expression of TLR2, TLR4; Increased expression of TLR9; Inhibition of NF-κB	Reduced expression of TNF-α, IL-6	Li et al. (2015a)
LPS-induced SCM SD rats	Anti-inflammatory; Reduced the myocardial injury	Reduced expression of TLR4; Inhibition of P65	Suppressed IL-1β, TNF-α	Li et al. (2015a)
CLP-induced sepsis Kunming mice	Attenuated neutrophil tissue infiltration and multiorgan dysfunction	Promoted IL-10; Reduced expression of CCR2	Decreased MPO; Increased expression of KC, MCP-1, MIP-1, MIP-2	Wang et al. (2016)
LPS-induced sepsis BALB/c mice	Attenuated neutrophil tissue; Protected against lung injury; Increased the survival rates	Reduced expression of cPLA2,p-cPLA2	Reduced expression of TNF-α	Zhang et al., 2008
A/FM1/1/47 (H1N1) influenza virus-infected C57BL/6 mice	Anti-viral; Anti-inflammatory, Reduced lung injury	Reduced expression of TLR7, MyD88, P65/NF-κB	Suppressed IFN-γ, IL-1β, TNF-α; Promoted IL-4; decreased the ratios of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg cells	Zhang et al., 2008
10LD50 influenza virus-infected BALb/c mice	Anti-viral; Anti-inflammatory, Reduced tissue damage	Promoted expression of LC3, BNIP3; inhibited mtROS generation	Reduced expression of NLRP3; Suppressed caspase-1 activation; Suppressed IL-1β; Up-regulated mitophagy	Liu et al. (2020)
Poly I:C-induced RAW 264.7 cells	Anti-apoptosis; Anti-inflammatory	Reduced expression of p-P38, p-ERK 1/2, p-STAT3, p-IkBα	Suppressed NO, PGE2, Fas, GM-CSF, LIF, LIX, RANTES, MIP-2	Kim et al. (2021a)
COVID-19 spike protein-induced SK-N-SH and CCD-841 CoN cells	Anti-inflammatory; Enhanced cell activity	—	Suppressed TNF-α, IL-6	Gu et al. (2021)

Note: ALI, acute lung injury; KLF-4, Krüppel-like factor 4; CLP, caecal ligation and puncture; SAE, sepsis-associated encephalopathy; CS, cecal slurry; NS, neonatal sepsis; SCM, septic cardiomyopathy; CCR2, Chemokine Receptor 2; KC, keratinocyte-derived chemokine; MIP-1, macrophage inflammatory protein-1; MIP-2, macrophage inflammatory protein-2; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; cPLA₂, cytosolic phospholipase A₂; Poly I:C, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid; PGE2, Prostaglandin E2, Fas: first apoptosis signal receptor; GM-CSF, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor; LIF, leukemia inhibitory factor; LIX, lipopolysaccharide-induced CXC, chemokine; RANTES, chemokine ligand 5 (Ye et al., 2020).