Effect of Acanthus ilicifolius alkaloid A on PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway in rats with hepatic fibrosis / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of Acanthus ilicifolius alkaloid A (HBOA) on PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway in rats with hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and to explore the mechanism of action of HBOA against liver fibrosis. Methods Rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, high, medium; and low-dose HBOA groups (100, 50, 25 mg/kg), and colchicine group (0.4 mg/kg). Except for the normal group, the rats in other groups were given with a 50% CCl4 olive oil solution twice a week for 12 weeks to induce a rat model of liver fibrosis. From the ninth week of modeling, the drug-administered group was given the corresponding test drug once daily for 4 weeks. After the experiment, the body mass change and liver index were calculated. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the liver homogenate of each group were detected. The protein expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR, and p-p70S6K in liver tissue was detected by Western blotting. Results Compared with the model group, the body weight of mice of each drug-administered group was significantly increased, and the liver index, and ALT and AST levels were decreased in liver tissue. In addition, HBOA high and medium-dose groups significantly inhibited the protein expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR, and p-p70S6K. Conclusion HBOA has a protective effect on hepatic fibrosis rats, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.