Cheng Fafeng, Ma Chongyang, Wang Xueqian, Zhai Changming, Wang Guoli, Xu Xiaolin, Mu Jie, Li Changxiang, Wang Zisong, Zhang Xiaoyu, Yue Wenchao, Du Xin, Lian Yajun, Zhu Wenxiang, Yin Xiangjun, Wei Zhen, Song Wenjie, Wang Qingguo
School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 11 Beisanhuandong Road, Chao yang District, Beijing, 100029, China.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2017 Apr 7;17(1):203. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1707-2.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents one of the most common forms of liver disease worldwide, and it is always regarded as a consequence of a sedentary, food-abundant lifestyle, sitting for an extended time, and a low physical activity level, which often coincide with chronic and long-lasting psychological stress. A Chinese medicine Sinisan (SNS) may be a potential formula for treating this kind of disease.
In this study, a long-term chronic restraint stress protocol was used to investigate the mechanism underlying stress-induced NALFD. To investigate the effect of SNS treatment on stress-induced NAFLD, we measured the liver and serum values of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), liver free fatty acids (FFA), low-density lipoprotein, superoxide dismutase, tumor necrosis factor-α, malondialdehyde, interleukin (IL)-6, and serum values of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase. Results are shown as a mean ± standard deviation. Significant differences between the groups were evaluated using the Student t-test. For multiple comparisons, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. If the results of ANOVA indicated significant differences, post hoc analysis was performed with the Tukey test or Dunnett test, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Long-term chronic stress led to steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Additionally, SNS treatment significantly increased body weight gain (p < 0.01) and sucrose preference (p < 0.001), and it reduced the liver values of TC, TG, and FFA (p < 0.05). SNS also reduced the serum values of AST and ALT (p < 0.001), and the liver value of IL-6 (p < 0.01).
This study's results demonstrate that psychological stress may be a significant risk factor of NAFLD. Furthermore, the traditional Chinese medicine formula SNS may have some beneficial effect in antagonizing psychological stress and stress-related NAFLD.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）是全球最常见的肝脏疾病形式之一，通常被认为是久坐不动、食物丰富的生活方式、长时间坐着以及低身体活动水平的结果，这些情况常与慢性和长期的心理压力同时存在。中药四逆散（SNS）可能是治疗这类疾病的一种潜在方剂。
在本研究中，采用长期慢性束缚应激方案来研究应激诱导的NAFLD的潜在机制。为了研究SNS治疗对应激诱导的NAFLD的影响，我们测量了肝脏和血清中的总胆固醇（TC）、甘油三酯（TG）、肝脏游离脂肪酸（FFA）、低密度脂蛋白、超氧化物歧化酶、肿瘤坏死因子-α、丙二醛、白细胞介素（IL）-6的值，以及天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）、丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）和碱性磷酸酶的血清值。结果以平均值±标准差表示。使用学生t检验评估组间的显著差异。对于多重比较，采用单因素方差分析（ANOVA）。如果方差分析结果显示存在显著差异，则使用Tukey检验或Dunnett检验进行事后分析，p<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
长期慢性应激导致脂肪变性和非酒精性脂肪性肝炎。此外，SNS治疗显著增加体重增加（p<0.01）和蔗糖偏好（p<0.001），并降低肝脏中TC、TG和FFA的值（p<0.05）。SNS还降低了AST和ALT的血清值（p<0.001）以及肝脏中IL-6的值（p<0.01）。
本研究结果表明，心理压力可能是NAFLD的一个重要危险因素。此外，中药方剂SNS在对抗心理压力和与压力相关的NAFLD方面可能具有一些有益作用。
