Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, P. R. China.
Am J Chin Med. 2015;43(2):231-40. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X15500159. Epub 2015 Mar 24.
The effects of neferine, a bisbenzylisoquinline alkaloid extracted from the seed embryo of the Chinese traditional medicine Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice were evaluated. Adult male Kunming mice were administered with CCl4 1 ml/kg via intraperitoneal injection twice a week for 8 weeks. At the beginning of the 9th week, mice were treated with normal saline, colchicine (0.1 mg/kg), and neferine (5, 10, 20 mg/kg) via intraperitoneal injection once a day for 2 weeks. The liver index and histological examination, plasma ALT/AST levels, hydroxyproline and TGF-β1 content of liver tissue were examined. In the model group, the liver index, the hydroxyproline content of liver tissue and plasma ALT/AST levels were increased, and a high expression of TGF-β1 was observed. The abnormal changes could be improved by neferine in a dose-dependent manner. Our data showed that neferine had an antifibrosis effect on CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice, possibly partly due to the decreased expression of TGF-β1 in the liver.
我们评价了从中国传统药材莲子（Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn）的种胚中提取的双苄基异喹啉生物碱小檗碱对小鼠四氯化碳（CCl4）诱导的肝纤维化的影响。成年雄性昆明小鼠每周两次通过腹腔注射 1ml/kg 的 CCl4 8 周。在第 9 周开始时，通过腹腔注射生理盐水、秋水仙碱（0.1mg/kg）和小檗碱（5、10、20mg/kg）每天一次治疗 2 周。检查肝指数和组织学检查、血浆 ALT/AST 水平、肝组织羟脯氨酸和 TGF-β1 含量。在模型组中，肝指数、肝组织羟脯氨酸含量和血浆 ALT/AST 水平升高，TGF-β1 表达升高。小檗碱可呈剂量依赖性改善这些异常变化。我们的数据表明，小檗碱对 CCl4 诱导的小鼠肝纤维化具有抗纤维化作用，可能部分归因于肝内 TGF-β1 表达的降低。
