Huanglian Jiedutang Alleviates Liver Injury in Septic Mice by Inducing Autophagy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo explore effect of Huanglian Jiedutang （HLJDT） on autophagy-related protein expression in septic mice with liver injury induced by cecal ligation and puncture （CLP）. MethodSixty eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups， namely， the sham operation group， model group， and low- （1.44 g∙kg-1） and high-dose （2.88 g∙kg-1） HLJDT groups， with 15 in each group. The septic model was established by CLP after the last administration of HLJDT for three successive days. The survival rate of mice with 24 h was observed. The mice were sacrificed 12 h after operation for collecting the serum and liver tissue. The levels of serum interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） in serum by biochemical method. The pathological changes in liver tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and the apoptosis index （AI） of hepatocytes by TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling （TUNEL）. The expression levels of protein high-mobility group box 1 protein （HMGB1）， Beclin1， and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3）-Ⅱ/Ⅰ in the liver tissue were assayed by Western blot. ResultCompared with the sham operation group， the model group showed reduced survival rate at 12 and 24 h， elevated IL-6， TNF-α， and IL-1β levels， enhanced AST and ALT activities （P<0.05）， hepatocyte swelling， inflammatory cell infiltration， and apoptosis， and up-regulated HMGB1 （P<0.05）， Beclin1， and LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， each medication group exhibited increased survival rate at 12 and 24 h， lowered IL-6 and TNF-α levels， weakened AST and ALT activities （P<0.05）， alleviated liver injury and apoptosis （P<0.05）， down-regulated HMGB1 expression （ P<0.05）， and up-regulated Beclin1 and LC3-Ⅱ/Ⅰ （P<0.05）. ConclusionHLJDT alleviates the liver injury of septic mice possibly by inducing autophagy and inhibiting apoptosis.