Molecular mechanism of the anti-liver fibrosis effect of curcumol: An analysis based on the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the molecular mechanism of the anti-liver fibrosis effect of curcumol by observing the effect of curcumol on the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells. MethodsA total of 50 mice were randomly divided into blank group, model group, and curcumol group, and cells were divided into blank control group, LPS positive control group, curcumol intervention group, and PDTC group. HE staining and Masson staining were used to observe the change in liver structure; Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR) were used to measure the protein and mRNA expression of the key molecules TLR4 and NF-κB in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway; immunofluorescence assay was used to observe the expression and nuclear import of NF-κB in cells. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple 　groups, and the least　significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups.　ResultsRT-PCR showed that compared with the positive control group, the curcumol intervention group had significant reductions in the mRNA expression of TLR4 and NF-κB (both P＜0.05). Western blot showed that compared with the positive control group, the curcumol intervention group had significant reductions in the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB (both P＜005). Immunofluorescence assay showed that compared with the positive control group, the curcumol intervention group had significant improvement in NF-κB nuclear import. ConclusionCurcumol can exert an anti-liver fibrosis effect possibly by inhibiting the activity of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.