Rat activin-betaE mRNA expression during development and in acute and chronic liver injury

Anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of Silybum marianum in treatment of experimental steatohepatitis

In this study, we were aimed to evaluate the probable effect of the crud extract of Silybum marianum, with high polyphenolic content, on experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). To induce NASH, a methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet was given to N-Mary rats for 8 weeks. After NASH development, MCD-fed rats were divided into two groups: MCD groups received MCD diet and MCD+S group was fed MCD diet plus crude extract of S. marianum orally for 3 weeks. Control group was fed a normal diet for 11 weeks. Finally, all rats were sacrificed. Plasma alanine amino transferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST) levels were evaluated. In addition, the following hepatic factors were also evaluated: liver histology, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents, gene expressions of TNF-α and TGF-β and immunoblot evaluations of caspase-3, ERK/p-ERK, JNK/pJNK and p38/pp38. Histopathological evaluations of the liver samples revealed that treatment with the S. marianum extract has abated the severity of NASH among the MCD-fed rats. Also, a significant reduction was observed in the sera ALT and AST activities. In addition, the extract caused dramatic reduction in the elevated hepatic TNF-α and TGF-β mRNA and MDA levels along with an increase in the GSH content. Moreover, the plant extract treatments significantly lowered activation of procaspase-3 to active caspase-3 and also lowered the phosphorylated form of JNK among the same group of rats. These results suggest that the S. marianum crude extract beneficial effects on NASH are mainly due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Teucrium polium reversed the MCD diet-induced liver injury in rats

In the present study, we evaluated the ability of Teucrium polium ethyl acetate fraction, with high antioxidant activity, in the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in rats and its possible effect on factors involved in pathogenesis of the disease. To induce NASH, a methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet was given to N-Mary rats for 8 weeks. After NASH development, MCD-fed rats were divided into 2 groups: NASH group that received MCD diet and NASH + T group which was fed MCD diet plus ethyl acetate fraction of T. polium orally for 3 weeks. Histopathological evaluations revealed that treatment with the extract has abated the severity of NASH among the MCD-fed rats. In addition, the fraction reduced the elevated levels of hepatic tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) gene expression and also the elevated level of malondialdehyde (MDA). In addition, the extract increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and enhanced the level of hepatic glutathione (GSH). Moreover, the fraction treatments lowered caspase-3 level and the phosphorylated form of C-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and augmented the phosphorylated level of extracellular regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2). These results indicate that the ethyl acetate fraction of T. poium effectively reversed NASH, mainly due to its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Screening for the drug-phospholipid interaction: correlation to phospholipidosis

Phospholipid bilayers represent a complex, anisotropic environment fundamentally different from bulk oil or octanol, for instance. Even "simple" drug association to phospholipid bilayers can only be fully understood if the slab-of-hydrocarbon approach is abandoned and the complex, anisotropic properties of lipid bilayers reflecting the chemical structures and organization of the constituent phospholipids are considered. The interactions of drugs with phospholipids are important in various processes, such as drug absorption, tissue distribution, and subcellular distribution. In addition, drug-lipid interactions may lead to changes in lipid-dependent protein activities, and further, to functional and morphological changes in cells, a prominent example being the phospholipidosis (PLD) induced by cationic amphiphilic drugs. Herein we briefly review drug-lipid interactions in general and the significance of these interactions in PLD in particular. We also focus on a potential causal connection between drug-induced PLD and steatohepatitis, which is induced by some cationic amphiphilic drugs.