Antifibrotic effect of total flavonoids of Astmgali Radix on dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver cirrhosis in rats

Astragalus Mongholicus: A review of its anti-fibrosis properties

Background: Fibrosis-related diseases (FRD) include cerebral fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, cardiac fibrosis, liver fibrosis, renal fibrosis, peritoneal fibrosis, etc. The effects of fibrosis can be severe, resulting in organ dysfunction, functional decline, and even organ failure, which can cause serious health problems.

Aim: Currently, there is no effective modern medicine for anti-fibrosis in the clinics; however, Chinese medicine has a certain beneficial effect on treating such diseases. Astragalus Mongholicus (AM) has rich medicinal value, and its anti-fibrosis effect has been recently investigated. In recent years, more and more experimental studies have been conducted on the intervention of astragaloside IV (AS-IV), astragalus polysaccharide (APS), astragalus flavone, cycloastragalus alcohol, astragalus water extract and other pharmacological components in fibrosis-related diseases, attracting the interest of researchers. We aim to provide ideas for future research by summarizing recent research advances of AM in treating fibrosis-related diseases.

Methods: A literature search was conducted from the core collections of electronic databases such as Baidu Literature, Sciencen.com, Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct using the above keywords and the pharmacological and phytochemical details of the plant.

Results: AM can be used to intervene in fibrosis-disease progression by regulating inflammation, oxidative stress, the immune system, and metabolism.

Conclusion: AS-IV, APS, and astragalus flavone were studied and discussed in detail. These components have high potential anti-fibrosis activity. Overall, this review aims to gain insight into the AM’s role in treating fibro-related diseases.

Natural Products Targeting Liver X Receptors or Farnesoid X Receptor

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a superfamily of transcription factors induced by ligands and also function as integrators of hormonal and nutritional signals. Among NRs, the liver X receptors (LXRs) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) have been of significance as targets for the treatment of metabolic syndrome-related diseases. In recent years, natural products targeting LXRs and FXR have received remarkable interests as a valuable source of novel ligands encompassing diverse chemical structures and bioactive properties. This review aims to survey natural products, originating from terrestrial plants and microorganisms, marine organisms, and marine-derived microorganisms, which could influence LXRs and FXR. In the recent two decades (2000-2020), 261 natural products were discovered from natural resources such as LXRs/FXR modulators, 109 agonists and 38 antagonists targeting LXRs, and 72 agonists and 55 antagonists targeting FXR. The docking evaluation of desired natural products targeted LXRs/FXR is finally discussed. This comprehensive overview will provide a reference for future study of novel LXRs and FXR agonists and antagonists to target human diseases, and attract an increasing number of professional scholars majoring in pharmacy and biology with more in-depth discussion.

The Agonists of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ for Liver Fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is a common link in the transformation of acute and chronic liver diseases to cirrhosis. It is of great clinical significance to study the factors associated with the induction of liver fibrosis and elucidate the method of reversal. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a class of nuclear transcription factors that can be activated by peroxisome proliferators. PPARs play an important role in fibrosis of various organs, especially the liver, by regulating downstream targeted pathways, such as TGF-β, MAPKs, and NF-κB p65. In recent years, the development and screening of PPAR-γ ligands have become a focus of research. The PPAR-γ ligands include synthetic hypolipidemic and antidiabetic drugs. In addition, microRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs and nano new drugs have attracted research interest. In this paper, the research progress of PPAR-γ in the pathogenesis and treatment of liver fibrosis was discussed based on the relevant literature in recent years.

Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Dicliptera chinensis (L.) Juss. Ameliorates Liver Fibrosis by Inducing Autophagy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K Signaling Pathway

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-hepatic fibrosis activity of ethyl acetate fraction Dicliptera chinensis (L.) Juss. (EDC) in human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in vitro and in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced hepatic fibrosis mouse model in vivo.

METHODS

For in vitro study, HSCs were pre-treated with platelet-derived growth factor (10 ng/mL) for 2 h to ensure activation and treated with EDC for 24 h and 48 h, respectively. The effect of EDC on HSCs was assessed using cell counting kit-8 assay, EdU staining, transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescence staining, and Western blot, respectively. For in vivo experiments, mice were intraperitoneally injected with CCl₄ (2 ° L/g, adjusted to a 25% concentration in olive oil), 3 times per week for 6 weeks, to develop a hepatic fibrosis model. Forty 8-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were divided into 4 groups using a random number table (n=10), including control, model, positive control and EDC treatment groups. Mice in the EDC and colchicine groups were intragastrically administered EDC (0.5 g/kg) or colchicine (0.2 mg/kg) once per day for 6 weeks. Mice in the control and model groups received an equal volume of saline. Biochemical assays and histological examinations were used to assess liver damage. Protein expression levels of α -smooth muscle actin (α -SMA) and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B (LC3B) were measured by Western blot.

RESULTS

EDC reduced pathological damage associated with liver fibrosis, downregulated the expression of α -SMA and upregulated the expression of LC3B (P<0.05), both in HSCs and the CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis mouse model. The intervention of bafilomycin A1 and rapamycin in HSCs strongly supported the notion that inhibition of autophagy enhanced α -SMA protein expression levels (P<0.01). The results also found that the levels of phosphoinositide (PI3K), p-PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), p-mTOR, and p-p70S6K all decreased after EDC treatment (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

EDC has anti-hepatic fibrosis activity by inducing autophagy and might be a potential drug to be further developed for human liver fibrosis therapy.

Molecular mechanism and research progress on pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine in liver injury

CONTEXT

Liver disease is a common threat to human health, caused by a variety of factors that damage the liver. Recent studies have shown that active ingredients (for example: flavonoids, saponins, acids, phenols, and alkaloids) from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can have hepatoprotective benefits, which represents an attractive source of drug discovery for treating liver injury.

OBJECTIVE

We reviewed recent contributions on the chemically induced liver injury, immunological liver damage, alcoholic liver injury, and drug-induced liver injury, in order to summarize the research progress in molecular mechanism and pharmacology of TCM, and provides a comprehensive overview of new TCM treatment strategies for liver disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Relevant literature was obtained from scientific databases such as Pubmed, Web of Science. and CNKI databases on ethnobotany and ethnomedicines (from January 1980 to the end of May 2018). The experimental studies involving the antihepatic injury role of the active agents from TCM and the underlying mechanisms were identified. The search terms included 'liver injury' or 'hepatic injury', and 'traditional Chinese medicine', or 'herb'.

RESULTS

A number of studies revealed that the active ingredients of TCM exhibit potential therapeutic benefits against liver injury, while the underlying mechanisms appear to contribute to the regulation of inflammation, oxidant stress, and pro-apoptosis signaling pathways.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The insights provided in this review will help further exploration of botanical drugs in the development of liver injury therapy via study on the effective components of TCM.

Anti-fibrotic Effects and Mechanism of Shengmai Injection () on Human Hepatic Stellate Cells LX-2

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of Shengmai Injection (, SMI) on the proliferation, apoptosis and N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2, a tumour suppressor gene) expression in varying densities of human hepatic stellate cells LX-2.

METHODS

LX-2 cells were cultured in vitro. Then, cells were plated in 96-well plates at an approximate density of 2.5×10⁴ cells/mL and cultured for 48, 72, 96 or 120 h followed by the application of different concentrations of SMI (0.6, 1.2, 2.4, 4.8 or 6 μL/mL). Cell proliferation was measured after an additional 24 or 48 h using the 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The effects of SMI on different cell growth states (cultured for 48, 72, 96, or 120 h) were observed by light microscopy at 24 h after treatment. When the cells reached 80% conflfluence, apoptosis was detected by flflow cytometry after 24 h. Lastly, LX-2 cells were treated with different concentrations of SMI and extracted with protein lysis buffer. The levels of NDRG2 were measured by Western blot.

RESULTS

When the LX-2 cells grew for 48, 72, 96 and 120 h, 4.8 and 6 μL/mL of SMI significantly inhibited cell proliferation at 24 and 48 h after treatment (P<0.05). And 2.4 μL/mL of SMI also inhibited cell proliferation at 24 h after treatment when cell growth for 48 h (P<0.05) and at 48 h after treatment when cell growth for 72, 96 and 120 h (P<0.05). The NDRG2 expression level in the LX-2 cell was significantly increased when treated with SMI at concentrations of 1.2, 2.4, 4.8 or 6 μL/mL (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

The inhibitory effects of SMI on the proliferation of LX-2 cells were related to not only concentration dependent but also cell density. In addition, SMI (2.4, 4.8 and 6 μL/mL) could accelerate apoptosis in LX-2 cells, and the mechanism might be associated with NDRG2 over-expression.

Mechanisms of Huangqi Decoction Granules () on Hepatitis B Cirrhosis Patients Based on RNA-Sequencing

OBJECTIVE

To explore the action mechanisms of Huangqi Decoction Granules (, HQDG) on hepatitis B cirrhosis.

METHODS

A total of 85 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis were randomly divided into HQDG group (42 cases) and control group (43 cases) by a random number table and were treated with HQDG or placebo for 48 weeks (6 g per times and orally for 3 times a day), respectively. After RNA-sequencing of serum samples extracted from the patients, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HQDG and control groups before and after treatment were separately screened. The DEGs were then performed pathway enrichment analysis and proteinprotein interaction (PPI) network analysis. The expression levels of key genes were detected by quantitative realtime polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

RESULTS

After the investigation, 4 and 3 cases were respectively excluded from HQD and control groups because of the incomplete data. Additionally, 3 and 5 cases were lost to follow up in HQD and control groups respectively. Finally, a total of 70 cases with good compliance were included for further DEGs analysis. A total of 1,070 DEGs (including 455 up-regulated genes and 615 down-regulated genes) in HQDG group and 227 DEGs (including 164 up-regulated genes and 63 down-regulated genes) in the control group were identified after treatment. Compared with the control group, 1,043 DEGs were specific in HQDG group. Besides, 1 up-regulated transcription factor (TF, such as GLI family zinc finger 1, GLI1) and 25 down-regulated TFs (such as drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic proteinfamily member 2, SMAD2) were identified. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that down-regulated Ras homolog gene family member A (RHOA) was enriched in pathogenic Escherichia coli infection. In the PPI network, up-regulated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and down-regulated cell division cycle 42 (CDC42) as well as v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT1) had higher degrees. Moreover, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) was involved in the lncRNA-target regulatory network. Furthermore, qRT-PCR revealed that expression levels of CDC42 and GLI1 had significant differences in HQDG group before and after treatment (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

CDC42 and GLI1 may be the targets of HQDG in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis. Additionally, SMAD2, EGFR, AKT1, RHOA and GAS5 might be associated with the curative effect of HQDG on hepatitis B cirrhosis patients.

Polyphenols from Tamarix nilotica: LC⁻ESI-MSn Profiling and In Vivo Antifibrotic Activity

Tamarix nilotica (Ehrenb.) Bunge (Tamaricaceae), an indigenous plant to the Middle East region, is well-known as a medicinal plant for treating many human ailments. The current study aimed at exploring the polyphenol profile of the alcohol soluble fraction of aqueous T. nilotica extract, assessing its in vivo antifibrotic activity and the possible underlying mechanism, to unravel the impact of quantitative difference of sulphated polyphenols content on the antifibrotic activity of T. nilotca grown in two different habitats. Polyphenol profiling of T. nilotica extracts was performed using HPLC-HRESI-QTOF-MS-MS. The major polyphenol components included sulphated flavonoids, phenolic acids and free aglycones. The antifibrotic activity was evaluated through carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in rats. Biochemical evaluations revealed that both fractions ameliorated the increased levels of hepatic aminotransferases, lipid peroxidation, hydroxyproline, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Moreover, both fractions reduced catalase activity (CAT) and enhanced hepatic glutathione (GSH) content. Histopathological imaging undoubtedly confirmed such results. In conclusion, the T. nilotica polyphenol-rich fraction exhibited potential antifibrotic activity in rats. Significant alterations in GSH levels were recorded based on the sulphated polyphenol metabolite content.

The Potential and Action Mechanism of Polyphenols in the Treatment of Liver Diseases

Liver disease, involving a wide range of liver pathologies from fatty liver, hepatitis, and fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, is a serious health problem worldwide. In recent years, many natural foods and herbs with abundant phytochemicals have been proposed as health supplementation for patients with hepatic disorders. As an important category of phytochemicals, natural polyphenols have attracted increasing attention as potential agents for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. The striking capacities in remitting oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and inflammation put polyphenols in the spotlight for the therapies of liver diseases. It has been reported that many polyphenols from a wide range of foods and herbs exert therapeutic effects on liver injuries via complicated mechanisms. Therefore, it is necessary to have a systematical review to sort out current researches to help better understand the potentials of polyphenols in liver diseases. In this review, we aim to summarize and update the existing evidence of natural polyphenols in the treatment of various liver diseases by in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies, while special attention is paid to the action mechanisms.