ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE：To investigate the improvement effect of Tiarella polyphylla ethanol extract （TPME）on CCl 4-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice ，and to explore its possible mechanism preliminarily. METHODS ：Totally 60 male Kunming mice were randomly divided into normal group ，model group ，positive control group （colchicine 0.1 mg/kg），TPME low-dose ，medium-dose and high-dose groups （250，500，1 000 mg/kg）according to body weight ，with 10 mice in each group. Except for normal group ， other groups were given 20％ CCl4 olive oil solution intraperitoneally to induce hepatic fibrosis ，twice a week ，for consecutive 8 weeks. From the fifth week after modeling ，administration groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically ，normal group and model group were given constant volume of normal saline intragastrically ，once a day ，for consecutive 4 weeks. Twelve hours after last administration ，the liver weight of mice in each group was measured and the liver index was calculated. The serum contents of ALT，AST，SOD，MDA，PC-Ⅲ，C-Ⅳ，LN，TNF-α and IL- 6 were determined. Western blot assay was used to detect the protein expression of α-SMA，TGF-β1 and Smad 3 in liver tissue. HE and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes of hepatic tissue. RESULTS ：Compared with normal group ，the liver index ，the activities of ALT and AST and the contents of MDA ， LN，PC- Ⅲ ，C- Ⅳ ，LN，TNF-α and IL- 6 in serum were increased significantly ， while the activity of SOD was 6011） decreased significantly in model group （P＜0.01）；the protein expression of α-SMA，TGF-β1 and Smad 3 in liver tissues were hfjsznd8@126.com increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Obvious fibrosis lesions was observed in liver tissue. Compared with model group ，the live indexes ，the activities of ALT and AST ，the contents of MDA，PC-Ⅲ，C-Ⅳ，LN，TNF-α and IL-6 in serum were decreased significantly in positive control group and TPME groups ， while the activities of SOD were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The protein expression of α-SMA，TGF-β1 and Smad3 in liver tissue were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01），and liver fibrosis was improved to different extent. Compared with TPME low-dose group ，the contents of PC- Ⅲ，LN and IL- 6 in serum ，protein expression of TGF-β1 and Smad 3 in liver tissue were decreased significantly in TPME high-dose group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS ：TPME can improve hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl 4 in mice ，the mechanism of which may be associated with the inhibition of collagen synthesis and oxidative stress，the reduction of inflammatory factors ，and the down-regulation of the expression α-SMA and relative proteins of TGF-β1/ Smad signal pathway.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the feasibility of defining the radiotherapy target of primary liver cancer using four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) and T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR-T2) deformable image registration.Methods Ten patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who first received radiotherapy were included in this study.The 4DCT in free breathing and MR-T2 in deep breathing were acquired sequentially.4DCT were sorted into ten series of CT images according to the respiratory phase.MIM software was used for deformable image registration.The accuracy of deformable image registration was assessed by the maximal displacements in three-dimensional directions of the portal vein and the celiac trunk and the degree of liver overlapping (P-LIVER).Gross tumor volume (GTV) was delineated on different series of CT images and the internal GTV (IGTV) was merged by ten GTVs on 4DCT images in each phase.The MR-T2 image was deformably registered to 4DCT images in each phase to acquire ten GTVDR.The IGTVDRwas obtained by merging the ten GTVDR.The differences between different target volumes were compared by paired t-test.Results The maximal displacements in three-dimensional directions of the portal vein were 0.3±0.8 mm along the x-axis, 0.8±1.8 mm along the y-axis, and 0.5±1.5 mm along the z-axis.The maximal displacements in three-dimensional directions of the celiac trunk were 0.1±1.0 mm along the x-axis, 0.7±1.2 mm along the y-axis, and 0.6±2.0 mm along the z-axis.Overlapping degree was 115.4±13.8%.The volumes of GTVs obtained from 4DCT images in each phase after DR increased by an average of 8.18%(P<0.05), and were consistent with those delineated on MR-T2 images.The IGTV after DR increased by an average of 9.67%(P<0.05).Conclusions MRI image can show more information and have a higher contrast than CT image.MRI images should be combined with 4DCT images for delineating the GTV.It can better determine the scope and trajectory of the target and improve the delineation accuracy of HCC target.