Therapeutic Effect and Mechanism of Solanum nigrum on Hepatic Fibrosis Induced by Carbon Tetrachloride in Rats
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251208
- VernacularTitle:龙葵通过Bcl-2/Bax/Caspase-3通路对四氯化碳诱导大鼠肝纤维化的治疗作用及机制
- Author:
Min WU
1
;
Zhenxiang AN
1
;
Yuanli HE
1
;
Weinong WEN
1
;
Qiang SU
1
;
Song HE
1
Author Information
1. The First Clinical Medical College of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM）， Guiyang 550001，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
hepatic fibrosis;
Solanum nigrum;
B cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）/Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）/cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3 （Caspase-3） signaling pathway;
apoptosis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(2):117-125
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of Solanum nigrum on hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride （CCl4） in rats. MethodsSixty SD rats were randomly allocated into blank， model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （0.9， 1.8， 3.6 g·kg-1， respectively） S. nigrum， and silibinin capsules （18.9 mg·kg-1） groups. Except the blank group， the other groups were subjected to intraperitoneal injection of 40% CCl4 solution for the modeling of hepatic fibrosis. After 4 weeks of gavage， blood was collected from the abdominal aorta following intraperitoneal anesthesia. The rats were sacrificed， and the liver was separated. The pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson staining. The levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， and liver fibrosis indexes ［type Ⅲ procollagen （PCⅢ）， type Ⅳ collagen （Col Ⅳ）， laminin （LN）， and hyaluronic acid （HA）］ in the rat serum were determined. The mRNA and protein levels of B cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）/Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）/cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3 （Caspase-3） pathway-related factors were determined by Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot， respectively. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significant hepatocyte edema， infiltration of inflammatory cells， connective tissue proliferation， and collagen fiber deposition in the liver tissue. Compared with the model group， low-， medium-， and high-dose S. nigrum and silymarin capsules significantly improved the structure of liver cells and alleviated the edema， inflammatory cell infiltration， connective tissue proliferation， and collagen fiber deposition. Compared with those in the blank group， the serum levels of ALT， AST， PCⅢ， Col Ⅳ， LN， and HA were elevated in the model group （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the serum levels of ALT， AST， PCⅢ， Col Ⅳ， LN， and HA were reduced in all the treatment groups （P<0.05）. Real-time PCR and Western blot results showed that compared with the blank group， the model group had up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2 and down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all the treatment groups showed down-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2 and up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of Bax and Caspase-3 （P<0.05）， with the high-dose S. nigrum group showing the best therapeutic effect. ConclusionS. nigrum modulates the progression of hepatic fibrosis in rats by regulating apoptosis through the Bcl-2/Bax/caspase-3 pathway.
