Regulatory effects of TRPV4 on liver fibrosis of rats / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To investigate the effect of TRPV4 on hepatic fibrosis of rats . Methods Liver fibrosis model of rats was induced by 50% CCl4 twice a week for 12 weeks. HE and Masson staining were used to evaluate the degree of hepatic fibrosis, and the levels of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) and TRPV4 were detec-ted in fibrotic liver tissue by Western blot. HSC-T6 cells were activated by transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1),and the protein levels of α-SMA, TRPV4 were detected by Western blot. After using Ru and transfected with TRPV4-siRNA, HSC-T6 was stimula-ted with TGF-β1, the levels of α-SMA, TRPV4 and phosphorylation level of Akt were determined by West-ern blot. Results TRPV4 was highly expressed in model liver tissues and in activated HSC-T6 induced by TGF-β1 . The levels of α-SMA and phosphorylation of Akt decreased in TGF-β1-induced HSC, used with Ru or transfected with TRPV4-siRNA. Conclusions The expression of TRPV4 increases in fibrotic livers and ac-tivated hepatic stellate cells. Knockdown of TRPV4 can suppress the activation of hepatic stellate cells in-duced by TGF-β1 , and decrease the phosphorylation levels of Akt.