Qu Ying, Zong Lei, Xu Mingyi, Dong Yuwei, Lu Lungen
Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200080, China.
Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2015 Feb 1;8(2):1292-301. eCollection 2015.
Glycyrrhizin has various pharmacological effects including hepato-protection. This study aimed to investigate the potential mechanism underlying the protective effects of 18α-glycyrrhizin (18α-GL) in rats with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver fibrosis.
Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group, fibrosis group, 25 mg/kg 18α-GL group and 12.5 mg/kg 18α-GL group. Rats in experimental groups were subcutaneously injected with 40% CCl4 twice weekly for 8 weeks. Immunohistochemical examination was carried out to detect the protein expressions of collagen I, collagen III, TGF-β1, p-Smad2, p-Smad3, Smad 7 and SP-1, in the liver, and the mRNA and protein expressions of these genes were determined in the liver by real time PCR and Western blot assay, respectively.
18α-GL ameliorated histological changes and significantly suppressed collagen deposition. 18α-GL significantly decreased the mRNA expressions of TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3 and SP-1 in the liver. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that TGF-β1, p-Smad2, p-Smad3 and SP-1 expressions reduced following 18α-GL therapy. Western blot assay showed p-Smad2, p-Smad3, smad2 and smad3 expressions decreased after 18α-GL treatment. The mRNA and protein expression of Smad7 remained unchanged.
18α-GL is able to attenuate CCl4 induced liver fibrosis in rat.
甘草酸具有多种药理作用,包括肝脏保护作用。本研究旨在探讨18α-甘草酸(18α-GL)对四氯化碳(CCl4)诱导的大鼠肝纤维化保护作用的潜在机制。
将雄性Sprague-Dawley(SD)大鼠随机分为对照组、纤维化组、25mg/kg 18α-GL组和12.5mg/kg 18α-GL组。实验组大鼠每周皮下注射40% CCl4两次,共8周。采用免疫组织化学法检测肝脏中I型胶原、III型胶原、转化生长因子-β1(TGF-β1)、磷酸化Smad2(p-Smad2)、磷酸化Smad3(p-Smad3)、Smad7和SP-1的蛋白表达,并分别通过实时荧光定量PCR和蛋白质印迹法检测肝脏中这些基因的mRNA和蛋白表达。
18α-GL改善了组织学变化,并显著抑制了胶原沉积。18α-GL显著降低了肝脏中TGF-β1、Smad2、Smad3和SP-1的mRNA表达。免疫组织化学染色显示,18α-GL治疗后TGF-β1、p-Smad2、p-Smad3和SP-1的表达降低。蛋白质印迹法显示,18α-GL治疗后p-Smad2、p-Smad3、Smad2和Smad3的表达降低。Smad7的mRNA和蛋白表达保持不变。
18α-GL能够减轻CCl4诱导的大鼠肝纤维化。