Effect of Isodon ternifolius-medicated serum on hepatic stellate cells based on TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway / 中国中药杂志

The present study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of Isodon terricolous-medicated serum on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced hepatic stellate cell(HSC) activation. LPS-induced HSCs were divided into a blank control group, an LPS model group, a colchicine-medicated serum group, an LPS + blank serum group, an I. terricolous-medicated serum group, a Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) blocker group, and a TLR4 blocker + I. terricolous-medicated serum group. HSC proliferation was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT) assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to measure type Ⅰ collagen(COL Ⅰ), COL Ⅲ, transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1), α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-1(caspase-1), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1(MCP-1). Real-time PCR(RT-PCR) was used to detect mRNA expression of TLR4, IκBα, and NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3), nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) p65, gasdermin D(GSDMD), and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD(ASC) in HSCs. Western blot(WB) was used to detect the protein levels of TLR4, p-IκBα, NF-κB p65, NLRP3, ASC, and GSDMD in HSCs. The results showed that I. terricolous-medicated serum could inhibit the proliferation activity of HSCs and inhibit the secretion of COL Ⅰ, COL Ⅲ, α-SMA, TGF-β1, caspase-1, MCP-1, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1 in HSCs. Compared with the LPS model group, the I. terricolous-medicated serum group, the colchicine-medicated serum group, and the TLR4 blocker group showed down-regulated expression of p-IκBα, NLRP3, NF-κB p65, GSDMD, and ASC, and up-regulated expression of IκBα. Compared with the TLR4 blocker group, the TLR4 blocker + I. terricolous-medicated serum group showed decreased expression of TLR4, p-IκBα, NLRP3, NF-κB p65, GSDMD, and ASC, and increased expression of IκBα. In conclusion, I. terricolous-medicated serum down-regulates HSC activation by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Correlation and Traditional Chinese Medicine Intervention of Pyroptosis and Liver Diseases / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Pyroptosis， also known as cell inflammatory necrosis， is different from apoptosis， necrosis， and other forms of cell death in morphological characteristics， occurrence， and regulatory mechanism. It is a new type of programmed cell death dependent on Caspase， which has been discovered and confirmed in recent years. Studies have shown that pyroptosis is closely related to the occurrence of liver diseases， and is critical in alcoholic liver disease （ALD）， non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD）， liver fibrosis， and liver cancer. Pyroptosis causes inflammatory injury of hepatocytes to promote the occurrence and development of liver diseases by activating Caspase-1， cleaving the effector gasdermin-D （GSDMD）， and releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines， such as interleukin-18 （IL-18） and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） mainly through the classical NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome pathway. Clinically， Chinese medicine in the treatment of liver diseases has unique efficacy and low side effects. In the intervention on liver diseases， Chinese medicine blocks the pyroptosis signaling pathway to relieve the liver inflammation by inhibiting the assembly and activation of NLRP3 inflammasome multiprotein complex， blunting the activity of Caspase-1 or Caspase-4/Caspase-5/Caspase-11， and inhibiting the cleavage of GSDMD to reduce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-18 and IL-1β. Therefore， in-depth investigation of pyroptosis facilitates unveiling its role in the occurrence， development， and prognosis of liver diseases， and the enhancement or inhibition of pyroptosis may provide a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases by Chinese medicine. At present， NLRP3 inflammasome， a key protein in the classic pyroptosis signaling pathway， has become an anti-liver disease target of Chinese medicine. This study briefly summarized the relationship between pyroptosis and liver diseases and reviewed the intervention of monomers， compound prescriptions， effective fractions and extracts of Chinese medicine in recent years to provide important guidance for further exploring the pathogenic mechanism of pyroptosis and the treatment of liver diseases with Chinese medicine.