Pycnogenol suppresses TGF-β1-induced hepatic stellate cell activation via ERK-mediated autophagy inhibition / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM:To explore the effect of Pycnogenol on transforming growth factor-β1 ( TGF-β1)-induced he-patic stellate cell activation .METHODS:Cultured LX-2 cells were treated with 5μg/L TGF-β1 and different concentra-tions (0, 10, 25 and 50 mg/L) of Pycnogenol.The viability of the LX-2 cells under the conditions with or without autoph-agy inhibitor 3-MA and ERK inhibitor PD98059 was determined by MTT assay .The protein levels of α-SMA, ColⅠ, TIMP-1, LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ, beclin 1, p-ERK1/2 and ERK1/2 were detected by Western blot .RESULTS:Compared with con-trol group, 5μg/L TGF-β1 treatment elevated the cell viability , and increased the protein levels of α-SMA, ColⅠ, TIMP-1, LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ, beclin 1, p-ERK1/2, and ERK1/2 in the LX-2 cells (P<0.05).However, these effects were reversed by Pycnogenol pretreatment in a dose-dependent manner and the inhibitory effect of 50 mg/L Pycnogenol was the most sig-nificant in the LX-2 cells (P<0.05).Furthermore, compared with TGF-β1 group, pretreatment with 50 mg/L Pycnog-enol, 5 mmol/L 3-MA or 20 μmol/L PD98059 downregulated TGF-β1-induced cell viability and the protein levels of α-SMA and LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ in the LX-2 cells ( P<0.05 ) .CONCLUSION: Pycnogenol suppresses TGF-β1-induced hepatic stellate cell activation via p-ERK and autophagy inhibition .