scholarly journals Effects of Ethyl Pyruvate on Bile Duct Ligation-Induced Liver Fibrosis by Regulating Nrf2 Pathway and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Rats

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghua Zong ◽  
Mingxiao Zhang ◽  
Shuai Li ◽  
Wenqian Qi ◽  
Juan Li ◽  
...  

Aim. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on experimental liver fibrosis induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Material and Method. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: the sham group, the BDL group, and the BDL+EP group. Liver fibrosis was induced by common bile duct ligation and was evaluated by serum biochemical parameter levels, Masson’s trichrome staining, α-SMA expression, and collagen I deposition. The levels of Nrf2 signaling pathway-related antioxidant genes (Nrf2, SOD2, NQO1, and GSH-Px) in liver tissues were also measured. Meanwhile, the mRNA expression levels of HMGB1, IL-1β, TNF-α, and HSP27 were analyzed. In BDL-induced liver fibrosis rats, the successfully established model was confirmed by the significant increase of serum ALT and AST levels, the high liver fibrosis score, α-SMA expression, and collagen deposition. Results. Compared with the BDL group, EP administration could diminish fibrosis level and substantially increase the expression of Nrf2 signaling pathway-related antioxidant genes. Furthermore, EP significantly suppressed the mRNA expression levels of HMGB1, IL-1β, TNF-α, and HSP27. Conclusions. The results suggested that EP administration could effectively inhibit the liver fibrosis induced by BDL in rat, which may be associated with the enhanced activity of Nrf2 to mediate antioxidant enzyme system and downregulate the inflammatory genes.

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1342-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erawan Borkham-Kamphorst ◽  
Sebastian Huss ◽  
Eddy Leur ◽  
Ute Haas ◽  
Ralf Weiskirchen

FEBS Letters ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 581 (16) ◽  
pp. 3098-3104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongtao Wang ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Robert O. Heuckeroth

2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (5) ◽  
pp. G1004-G1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zhong ◽  
Matthias Froh ◽  
Mark Lehnert ◽  
Robert Schoonhoven ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
...  

Accumulation of hydrophobic bile acids during cholestasis leads to generation of oxygen free radicals in the liver. Accordingly, this study investigated whether polyphenols from green tea Camellia sinenesis, which are potent free radical scavengers, decrease hepatic injury caused by experimental cholestasis. Rats were fed a standard chow or a diet containing 0.1% polyphenolic extracts from C. sinenesis starting 3 days before bile duct ligation. After bile duct ligation, serum alanine transaminase increased to 760 U/l after 1 day in rats fed a control diet. Focal necrosis and bile duct proliferation were also observed after 1–2 days, and fibrosis developed 2–3 wk after bile duct ligation. Additionally, procollagen-α1(I) mRNA increased 30-fold 3 wk after bile duct ligation, accompanied by increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin and transforming growth factor-β and the accumulation of 4-hydroxynenonal, an end product of lipid peroxidation. Polyphenol feeding blocked or blunted all of these bile duct ligation-dependent changes by 45–73%. Together, the results indicate that cholestasis due to bile duct ligation causes liver injury by mechanisms involving oxidative stress. Polyphenols from C. sinenesis scavenge oxygen radicals and prevent activation of stellate cells, thereby minimizing liver fibrosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 967-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Chao Hsu ◽  
Yung-Tsung Chiu ◽  
Chang-Yin Lee ◽  
Ching-Fen Wu ◽  
Yi-Tsau Huang

Tetrandrine (Tet) (C38H42O8N2; molecular weight, 622), an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Stephania tetrandra, has been shown to elicit anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in pulmonary diseases, but the mechanism of action has yet to be investigated. In this study, we tested whether Tet exerts anti-fibrotic effects on rat hepatic fibrosis through anti-NFκB pathways. After bile-duct ligation, rats were given Tet (1 or 5 mg/kg) or silymarin (50 mg/kg, as a positive control) by gavage twice daily for 3 weeks. Liver sections were taken for Sirius red quantitative scoring, immunofluorescence double staining of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and NFκB, and for quantitative determinations of the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1, α-SMA, collagen 1α2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), metallothionein, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and VEGF type II receptor (VEGFR2) genes. The results showed that both Tet and silymarin treatment significantly reduced the fibrosis scores and hepatic collagen content of BDL rats, compared with no treatment. Both Tet and silymarin treatments decreased the number of α-SMA- and NFκB-positive cells in fibrotic livers. Moreover, Tet and silymarin treatments attenuated the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1,α-SMA, collagen 1α2, iNOS, ICAM-1, VEGF, and VEGFR2 genes, and induced the mRNA expression of the metallothionein gene. This study suggests that the anti-fibrotic effects of Tet were related to the reduction of fibrosis-related gene transcription, the attenuation of NFκB-activated pathways, and the induction of metallothionein gene transcription in the livers of BDL rats.


2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (2) ◽  
pp. G112-G120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Abramovitch ◽  
Efrat Sharvit ◽  
Yosef Weisman ◽  
Amir Bentov ◽  
Eli Brazowski ◽  
...  

1,25(OH)2D3, the active form of vitamin D, has an antiproliferative and antifibrotic effect on hepatic stellate cells. Our aim was to investigate the potential of 1,25(OH)2D3 to inhibit the development of liver fibrosis and to ameliorate established fibrosis in vivo. The antifibrotic effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 was investigated in a thioacetamide (TAA) model (as a preventive treatment and as a remedial treatment) and in a bile duct ligation model. In the preventive model, rats received simultaneously intraperitoneum injection of TAA and/or 1,25(OH)2D3 for 10 wk. In the remedial model, rats were treated with TAA for 10 wk and then received 1,25(OH)2D3 or saline for 8 wk. Fibrotic score was determined by Masson staining. Collagen I, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP1), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) expression were measured by Western blot analysis and real-time PCR. Hypercalemia was detected by chemistry measurements. Preventive treatment of 1,25(OH)2D3 significantly suppressed liver fibrosis both macroscopically and microscopically and significantly lowered the fibrotic score of the TAA + 1,25(OH)2D3 group compared with the TAA group. 1,25(OH)2D3 significantly inhibited expression of PDGF and TGF-β by ∼50% and suppressed the expression of collagen Iα1, TIMP1, and α-SMA by approximately three-, two-, and threefold, respectively. In contrast, 1,25(OH)2D3 was inefficient in amelioration of established liver fibrosis. Administration of 1,25(OH)2D3 to bile duct ligation rats led to a high mortality rate probably caused by hypercalcemia. We conclude that 1,25(OH)2D3 may be considered as a potential preventive treatment in an in vivo model but failed to ameliorate established cirrhosis.


Life Sciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 245-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha H. Sharawy ◽  
Noha Abdel-Rahman ◽  
Nirmeen Megahed ◽  
Mohammed S. El-Awady

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