Effects of Ge-Xia Zhu-Yu Decoction on Hepatic Thioredoxin System in Rats with Hepatic Fibrosis / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed to verify the hypothesis that Ge-Xia Zhu-Yu (GXZY) decoction protects liver from porcine serum-induced oxidative stress through the thioredoxin system.SD rats were randomly divided into the blank control group,model group,normal rat + GXZY decoction group,model rat + GXZY group.The rat autoimmune hepatic fibrosis model was induced with porcine serum by intraperitoneal injection (0.5 mL/each rat) twice a week.And GXZY decoction (7.37 g raw material/kg· d) was simultaneously administered daily by gavage.Lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) activity in liver tissues were determined by the colorimetric method.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to analyze the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nfe2l2,previously known as Nrf2) mRNA expression.And the western blot was used to analyze the thioredoxin-1 (Trx1) protein expression and Akt phosphorylation in the liver.The results showed that compared to the model control group,the GXZY decoction group attenuated porcine serum-induced oxidative stress,as indicated by the LPO level,in liver tissues.Furthermore,GXZY decoction significantly enhanced TrxR activity,Trx1 protein expression,Nfe2l2 mRNA expression,and Akt phosphorylation (all P＜0.05).It was concluded that the strong antioxidant properties of GXZY decoction in the porcine serum rat model was due to the enhancement of the hepatic thioredoxin system via activating Akt-Nrf2 signaling pathway.The study results provided experimental evidences for the supporting of this hypothesis.