ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Hugan buzure formula （HBF） on intrahepatic cholestatic liver injury in rats and its potential mechanism. METHODS Rats were randomly divided into control group， model group， ursodeoxycholic acid （UDCA） group （positive control， 60 mg/kg ） and HBF low-dose， middle-dose and high-dose groups （HBF-L， HBF-M， HBF-H groups， 0.4， 0.8， 1.6 g/kg ）， with 6 rats in each group. The rats in each drug group were given the corresponding drug solution intragastrically， once a day， for 7 consecutive days. The rats in the control group and the model group were given equal volumes of water intragastrically. On the 5th day， except for the control group， the rats in other groups were single intragastrically administered with alpha-naphthyl isothiocyanate olive oil solution （100 mg/kg） to establish the model. After 48 h of modeling， the contents of liver function indexes （aspartate aminotransferase， alanine aminotransferase， alkaline phosphatase， total bile acid， total bilirubin， direct bilirubin） and oxidative stress indexes [malondialdehyde （MDA）， glutathione （GSH）， superoxide dismutase] in serum of rats were detected； the pathological changes of liver tissue were observed. The mRNA expressions of inflammation-related factors [tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）] and farnesoid X receptor （FXR） signaling pathway-related factors [FXR， small heterodimer partner （SHP）， multidrug resistance protein 2 （MRP2）， bile salt export pump （BSEP）， Na+-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide （NTCP）， organic anion-transporting polypeptide 2 （OATP2） and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase （CYP7A1）]， the expressions of FXR signaling pathway-related proteins （FXR， MRP2， BSEP， NTCP） and nuclear factor- κB p65 （NF- κB p65） in liver tissue were detected.RESULTS Compared with the model group， the contents of liver function indexes and the level of MDA in serum， the mRNA expressions of the above inflammation-related factors and CYP7A1， and the relative expression of NF-κB p65 in liver tissue were significantly decreased； the levels of GSH in serum， the mRNA expressions of FXR， SHP， MRP2， BSEP， NTCP and OATP2， and the relative expressions of FXR， MRP2， BSEP and NTCP in liver tissue were significantly increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； the pathological changes of liver tissue were significantly improved. Only some indexes in HBF-L group， HBF-M group and UDCA group were significantly reversed （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS HBF can prevent intrahepatic cholestatic liver injury in rats， and the effects may be related to the activation of FXR signaling pathway and the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress.