ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the intervention effect of Xuanfuhua decoction on mice with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) induced by high-fat, high-fructose, and high-cholesterol diet. Methods A total of 32 male C57/BL6J mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group, Xuanfuhua decoction group, and obeticholic acid group, with 8 mice in each group. Since week 24 of modeling using high-fat, high-fructose, and high-cholesterol diet, each group was given the corresponding drug for intervention at a dose of 14.19 g/kg by gavage for the Xuanfuhua decoction group and 10 mg/kg by gavage for the obeticholic acid group and a volume of 20 mL/kg for gavage, once a day for 6 consecutive weeks. HE staining, oil red O staining, Sirius Red staining, and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes, lipid deposition, and collagen deposition of liver tissue; related kits were used to measure the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and glucose, as well as the content of TG and hydroxyproline (Hyp) in liver tissue; quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism, inflammation, and fibrosis in liver tissue; immunohistochemical staining was used to observe the positive expression of F4/80 and α-SMA in liver tissue. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups, and the least significant difference t -test was used for further comparison between two groups. Results Compared with the normal group, the model group had significant increases in body weight, liver wet weight, and serum levels of AST, ALT, TC, TG, LDL-C and glucose (all P < 0.01). HE staining showed hepatocyte steatosis, a large number of fat vacuoles, hepatocyte ballooning degeneration, and inflammatory cell infiltration in liver tissue of the mice in the model group, and the model group had a significant increase in NAFLD activity score (NAS) compared with the normal group ( P < 0.01). Oil red O staining showed the deposition of a large number of red lipid droplets with different sizes in hepatocytes of the mice in the model group, and compared with the normal group, the model group had significant increases in the area percentage of oil red O staining and the content of TG in the liver ( P < 0.01). Sirius Red staining and Masson staining showed significant collagen fiber hyperplasia in the perisinusoidal area, the central vein, and the portal area in the model group, and the model group had a significant increase in the content of Hyp in liver tissue compared with the normal group ( P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the Xuanfuhua decoction group had significant reductions in the serum levels of AST, ALT, TC, TG, LDL-C, and glucose (all P < 0.05), significant improvements in hepatic steatosis, inflammatory infiltration, lipid droplet deposition, and collagen fiber hyperplasia, and significant reductions in NAS score, area percentage of oil red O staining, and content of TG and Hyp in the liver (all P < 0.05). Compared with the normal group, the model group had significant increases in the mRNA expression levels of lipid metabolism-related genes (SREBP-1c, FASN, SCD-1, PPAR-γ, and CD36), inflammation-related genes (F4/80, TNF-α, CCL2, and CD11b), and the fibrosis-related gene α-SMA (all P < 0.05), and immunohistochemical staining showed significant increases in the positive expression of F4/80 and α-SMA ( P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the Xuanfuhua decoction group had significant reductions in the mRNA expression levels of SREBP-1c, FASN, SCD-1, PPAR-γ, CD36, F4/80, TNF-α, CCL2, CD11b, and α-SMA in liver tissue (all P < 0.05), and immunohistochemical staining showed significant reductions in the positive expression of F4/80 and α-SMA ( P < 0.01). Conclusion Xuanfuhua decoction has a good intervention effect on mice with NASH induced by high fat, high fructose, and high-cholesterol diet and can significantly inhibit hepatic lipid deposition, inflammatory response, and liver fibrosis.
ABSTRACT
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most common chronic liver disease, which progression is tightly regulated by transcription factors (TFs), nuclear receptors, and cellular enzymes. In this study, a label-free quantitative proteomic approach was used to determine the effect of the high-fat diet on the proteomics profile of liver tissue and to identify novel NAFLD related TFs. Mice were fed with HFD for 16 weeks to establish a NAFLD mouse model. Mice fed with normal chow diet were taken as controls. Liver samples were collected from each group for proteomics analysis. A total of 2298 proteins were quantified, among which 106 proteins were downregulated, while 256 proteins were upregulated in HFD-fed mice compared with the controls with fold change more than 1.5 and p value less than 0.05. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that metabolic-related functions and pathways were most significantly enriched. A subgroup of 11 TFs were observed to share interactions with metabolic-related enzymes and kinases by protein-protein interaction analysis. Among them, 7 TFs were selected for verification, and 3 TFs were finally validated, including Rbbp4, Tcea1, and ILF2. Downregulating each of the 3 TFs could significantly promote lipid accumulation in AML12 hepatocytes, by regulating the expression of fatty acid synthesis- or ß-oxidation-related genes. In contrast, overexpression of Tcea1, Rbbp4, and ILF2, respectively, could ameliorate hepatocyte steatosis. These findings propose novel lipid metabolism related TFs, which might have potential roles in preventing NAFLD.
