Ying Yuqi, Zhang Haitao, Yu Dian, Zhang Wei, Zhou Dongling, Liu Shuangchun
College of Second Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, Zhejiang, China.
Department of Urinary Surgery, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou 318000, Zhejiang, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Feb 16;2021:6659445. doi: 10.1155/2021/6659445. eCollection 2021.
Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD), a classic Chinese herbal formula, has been widely used in Chinese clinic for centuries and is well defined in treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the mechanism action of GQD on NAFLD is still rarely evaluated. The present study aims to investigate the effect of GQD on treatment of NAFLD in rats and to further explore the underlying mechanism. The rat NAFLD model established by high-fat-diet feeding was used in the research. Our results exhibited the liver lesions and steatosis was significantly alleviated in NAFLD rats treated with GQD via Oil Red O and H&E staining. Body weight and liver index in GQD groups were reduced significantly ( < 0.05). Moreover, the biochemical analyzer test results showed that GQD significantly decreased blood lipid levels total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and liver injury indicators alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), while it increased the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ( < 0.05). The levels of interferon- (IFN-), tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), and malondialdehyde (MDA) after the GQD treatment were significantly lower, and then interleukin-2 (IL-2), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were lifted significantly ( < 0.05). Further, GQD blocked the expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1 mRNA, and proteins in the liver tissues significantly ( < 0.05). These findings indicated that GQD can ameliorate the hepatic steatosis and injury of NAFLD. Its possible mechanism involves the modulation of inflammatory cytokines and antioxidative stress and the inhibition of NLRP3 signal axis activation. The results support that GQD may be a promising candidate in the treatment of NAFLD.
葛根芩连汤（GQD）是一种经典的中药方剂，数百年来一直在中国临床中广泛应用，在治疗非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）方面有明确的疗效。然而，GQD治疗NAFLD的作用机制仍鲜有评估。本研究旨在探讨GQD对大鼠NAFLD的治疗效果，并进一步探索其潜在机制。研究采用高脂饮食喂养建立大鼠NAFLD模型。通过油红O和苏木精-伊红（H&E）染色，我们的结果显示，用GQD治疗的NAFLD大鼠肝脏病变和脂肪变性明显减轻。GQD组的体重和肝脏指数显著降低（P<0.05）。此外，生化分析仪检测结果表明，GQD显著降低血脂水平，包括总胆固醇（TC）、甘油三酯（TG）、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C），以及肝损伤指标丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）、天冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）和碱性磷酸酶（ALP），同时升高高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）水平（P<0.05）。GQD治疗后，干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）和丙二醛（MDA）水平显著降低，而白细胞介素-2（IL-2）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）水平显著升高（P<0.05）。此外，GQD显著阻断肝脏组织中NLRP3、ASC、caspase-1 mRNA和蛋白的表达（P<0.05）。这些发现表明，GQD可以改善NAFLD的肝脂肪变性和损伤。其可能的机制包括调节炎性细胞因子和抗氧化应激，以及抑制NLRP3信号轴激活。结果支持GQD可能是治疗NAFLD的一个有前景的候选药物。
