The effect and mechanism of alcohol on liver injury in hepatitis B virus transgenic mice / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To investigate the synergistic effects and possible molecular mechanism of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and alcohol on liver injury in HBV transgenic mice(HBV-Tg mice).Methods 20 HBV-Tg mice and 20 wild-type mice were randomly divided into 4 groupsalcohol-fed Tg mice and alcohol-fed Wt mice, and they were given intragastric administration with alcohol. Control Tg mice and control Wt mice received intragastric administration with saline.All groups were rasied for 10 weeks.The levels of ALT and AST in serum, the degree of inflammation, the degree of fibrosis, the mRNA expression of TGF-β_1, Smad3, Smad7, CTGF and the protein expression of TGF-β_1, CTGF, α-SMA in liver tissue were detected.Results The serumlevel of ALT and AST, the mRNA expression of TGF-β_1, Smad3, Smad7, CTGF and the protein expression of TGF-β_1, CTGF, α-SMA in liver all increased markedly in alcohol-fed Tg mice. Alcohol consumption induced hepatocyte steatosis and hepatic inflammation in alcohol-fed Tg mice, but the change of liver fibrosis was not remarkable.Conclusion HBV and alcohol have synergistic effects on early liver injury, possibly by enhancing the expression of TGF-β_1, Smad3, CTGF, α-SMA and inducing unbalanced expression of Smads.