ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of the extracts from fresh Lycii Fructus (LBL) on hepatoma HepG2 cell-induced cachexia in mouse.Method: The human hepatoma cell line HepG2 was injected into BALB/C mice to establish the cachexia model.Then the LBL was fed to the models respectively in low dose (5 mg·kg-1) or high dose (25 mg·kg-1).After 28 days of continuous feeding,the mice's body weight was detected.The expression levels of creatine kinase (CK),interleukin-1β (IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) were evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The muscle degradation and the expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) were detected by immunohistochemistry staining.The expression levels of phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) were determined by Western blot.Result: Compared with cachexia group,the loss of body weight and muscle decomposition were significantly inhibited both in the low dose LBL group and high dose LBL group (P0.05,PPβ,IL-6 and TNF-α in both the low-dose LBL group and the high-dose LBL group (PPPκB were inhibited both in the low-dose LBL group and the high-dose LBL group (PConclusion: LBL could inhibit the cachexia induced by hepatoma HepG2 cell line in mouse,suggesting LBL could reduce major cytokine and plasma inflammatory factors through p-p38 MAPK pathway.