Mechanism of Yigan huayu formula in alleviating liver fibrosis based on proteomics
- VernacularTitle:基于蛋白质组学探讨益肝化瘀方改善肝纤维化的机制
- Author:
Conghui WANG
1
;
Guiping MA
1
;
Longzhu WANG
1
;
Fenping LU
1
;
Yanfang LI
2
;
Qiuhan GE
1
;
Shiping HU
1
Author Information
1. Dept. of Liver Diseases，Shenzhen Hospital （Longgang） Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine，Guangdong Shenzhen 518172，China
2. State Key Laboratory of Integration and Innovation of Classic Formula and Modern Chinese Medicine，Shandong Linyi 276006，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Yigan huayu formula;
liver fibrosis;
proteomics;
ECM-receptor interaction;
biological mechanism
- From:
China Pharmacy
2026;37(9):1155-1160
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and mechanism of Yigan huayu formula in alleviating liver fibrosis in mice. METHODS Mice were randomly divided into blank group （normal saline）， model group （normal saline）， Yigan huayu formula low- and high-dose groups （28.98， 57.96 g/kg， calculated by crude drug）， with 8 mice in each group. Except for the blank group， the liver fibrosis model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 15%CCl 4 -olive oil solution. From the third week， the mice received the medicine/normal saline intragastrically， once a day， for 4 consecutive weeks. After the last medication， liver indexes were calculated， the activities of alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） in serum， as well as the hydroxyproline （HYP） content in liver tissue， were measured. Liver histopathology was evaluated. Differentially expressed proteins （DEPs） in liver tissue were analyzed based on proteomics， followed by bioinfo rmatics analysis. The expressions of core DEPs were validated using Western blot （WB） and immunohistochemistry （IHC） methods. RESULTS Compared with the blank group， the model group showed significantly elevated liver indexes， serum activities of ALT and AST， and hepatic HYP content （ P ＜0.05）， along with obvious pathological damage and collagen deposition. Compared with the model group， the above indexes of mice in the Yigan huayu formula high-dose group were decreased significantly （ P ＜0.05）， with marked improvement in liver pathological damage and collagen deposition. Proteomics identified 210 DEPs between the model group and Yigan huayu formula high-dose group. DEPs were significantly enriched in extracellular matrix （ECM）-receptor interaction and lipid metabolism pathways. WB and IHC confirmed that Yigan huayu formula could significantly inhibit the abnormally elevated expressions of collagen type Ⅳ alpha1 chain （COL4A1）， secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine （SPARC）， vitronectin （VTN） and laminin subunit alpha5 （LAMA5） in liver tissue of mice （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Yigan huayu formula may exert anti-hepatic fibrosis effects by inhibiting the expressions of proteins such as COL4A1， LAMA5， SPARC， and VTN， thereby blocking the ECM-receptor interaction signaling pathway， and subsequently suppressing excessive ECM deposition and basement membrane remodeling.
