Effect of Shenling Baizhusan on Alcoholic Liver Injury in Rats by Regulating Ferroptosis Based on Nrf2 Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Shenling Baizhusan on the intervention of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） signaling pathway by regulating ferroptosis in rats with alcoholic liver injury. MethodForty SD rats were randomly divided into model group， polyene phosphatidylcholine group， and high， medium， and low-dose Shenling Baizhusan groups， with 8 rats in each group. Another 8 SD rats were taken as blank group. The model group， polyene phosphatidylcholine group， high， medium， and low-dose Shenling Baizhusan groups were given 10 mL·kg-1 liquor by gavage for modeling， and the blank group was given equal volume of distilled water by gavage. After 4 h of daily alcoholic administration， 143.64 mg·kg-1 of polyene phosphatidylcholine group was given to the polyene phosphatidylcholine group， 15， 7.5， 3.75 mg·kg-1 of Shenling Baizhusan were given to Shenling Baizhusan high， medium， and low-dose groups， respectively， and the blank group and the model group were given equal volume of distilled water. The gavage lasted for 6 weeks. The levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， glutamyl transpeptidase （GGT）， total cholesterol （TC）， and triglyceride （TG） were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-β （IL-β） were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The levels of lipopolysaccharide （LPS）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione （GSH）， and Fe+ were detected by biochemical assay. The pathological changes in the liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and oil red O staining. The mRNA expression levels of Nrf2， heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）， ferritin heavy polypeptide 1 （FTH1）， and nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） were detected by Real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The protein expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， GPX4， FTH1， p65， and phosphorylation （p）-p65 were detected by Western blot. ResultAs compared with the blank group， the levels of liver function （ALT， AST， and GGT） and blood lipids （TC and TG） in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.05）. The liver showed obvious steatosis， with a large number of fat deposition， the oxidative stress and inflammatory factors were significantly increased （P<0.05）， and the level of Fe+ was significantly increased in model group （P<0.05）. The protein expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， GPX4， and FTH1 was significantly down-regulated （P<0.05）， and those of p65 and p-p65 was significantly up-regulated in the model group （P<0.05）. The mRNA expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， GPX4， and FTH1 were significantly down-regulated （P<0.05）， and the mRNA expression level of NF-κB was significantly up-regulated （P<0.05）. As compared with the model group， the levels of liver function （ALT， AST， and GGT） and blood lipids （TC and TG） in the high-dose and medium-dose Shenling Baizhusan groups were significantly decreased （P<0.05）， liver steatosis was significantly improved， fat deposition was significantly reduced， oxidative stress and inflammatory factors were significantly decreased （P<0.05 ）， and Fe+ level was significantly decreased （P<0.05）. In the high-dose and medium-dose Shenling Baizhusan， the protein expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， GPX4， and FTH1 were significantly up-regulated （P<0.05）， and those of p65， p-p65 were significantly down-regulated （P<0.05）. The mRNA expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， GPX4， and FTH1 were significantly up-regulated （P<0.05）， and the mRNA expression level of NF-κB was significantly down-regulated （P<0.05）. ConclusionShenling Baizhusan can effectively reduce liver injury in rats with ALD， regulate steatosis and fat deposition， and play an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory role in the liver. Its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of ferroptosis in hepatocytes by up-regulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway to improve oxidative stress