Study on the Mechanism of Yifei Moxibustion Improving Immune Function in COPD Based on Plasma Exosome miRNAs

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common chronic airway disease, and airway inflammation and immune regulation mechanisms play a significant role in its development. Macrophage polarization is involved in the immune response process of COPD and is crucial for the resolution of airway inflammation and the regulation of the body's immune system. Among them, M1 polarization of macrophages can expand the inflammatory response, cause tissue damage, and aggravate the disease progression. Literature indicates that exosomal miR-125b may be an important target for regulating M1 polarization of macrophages.Yifei Moxibustion can improve the immune function of COPD patients, but its mechanism of action is still unclear. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed: Yifei Moxibustion can promote the resolution of inflammation and regulate the body's immune system by regulating miR-125b-mediated M1 polarization of macrophages. This study adopts a randomized controlled design, including 90 patients and 30 healthy volunteers. Patients are randomly divided into the Yifei Moxibustion group, the Western medicine conventional treatment group, and the TCM syndrome differentiation treatment group, and treated for 3 months. Peripheral venous blood is collected from healthy volunteers and patients. Firstly, T cell subsets, immunoglobulins and other indicators are observed to evaluate the effect of Yifei Moxibustion on improving immune function. Secondly, macrophage polarization is detected by nanoparticle tracking analysis, co-culture of transfected cells, CCK8 and other methods. miR-125b differentially expressed target genes are screened by miRDB and other databases, and the secretion of target genes regulated by exosomes is verified by luciferase reporter gene and other methods. Finally, macrophage polarization-related markers of patients before and after intervention are detected by flow cytometry, ELISA and other methods to preliminarily verify the regulation of exosomes on target genes, as well as potential targets and molecular mechanisms.