摘要Background:Chaihu Guizhi Decoction(CGD)is a classical prescription in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)that has been shown to be effective against infection and depression.However,the mechanisms of action of CGD in treating patients with de-pression who are also infected with a virus remain unknown.This study investigated the pharmacological mechanisms of CGD in treating depression-like mice infected with influenza A virus(IAV).Methods:The acute depression-like mouse model infected with IAV was established.The effects of CGD on alleviating depression-like symptoms were observed using the sucrose preference test and monoamine neurotransmitter expression.Additionally,the effectiveness of CGD against infection was assessed by examining the relative ex-pression of the M gene and pathological changes.To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of CGD,the levels of cytokines were measured,and the Th17/Treg ratio was analyzed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of CGD.Results:The study results show that CGD enhanced the rates of sucrose preference and raised the contents of neurotransmitters dopamine(DA)and norepinephrine(NE).CGD treatment led to a reduction in lung index and the relative expression of the M gene,along with improvements in pathological changes caused by IAV.Furthermore,the levels of cytokines were decreased after treatment with CGD,and the imbalance in the ratio of Th17/Treg was corrected via a reduction in the number of Th17 cells after treatment.Conclusions:CGD has a therapeutic effect in mice with depression-like symptoms infected with IAV,increasing the levels of DA and NE,downregulating M gene expres-sion,calming the cytokine storm,and preserving the homeostasis of Th17/Treg cells.