ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
·
2025
·
IF 9.7
Jianrong Han,Changqian Liu,Zhiyuan Chen,Fengkai Ruan,Fanzheng Xue,Lingxiao Ye,Yi Yu,Zhenghong Zuo,Chengyong He
Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), linked to lipid dysregulation, poses global health risks. 2,2′,3,4,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB138) is a persistent organic pollutant that poses potential threats to liver health due to its environmental persistence and bioaccumulation. Theabrown (TB), a natural compound extracted from black tea, exhibits lipid-lowering and antioxidant properties, but its protective effects on PCB138-induced liver injury have not been thoroughly investigated. Following a biphasic experimental design, juvenile male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to chronic PCB138 exposure (100 μg/kg, oral gavage every other day) for 48 weeks, with subsequent administration of TB (225 mg/kg/day) for an 8-week recovery duration. Long-term PCB138 exposure resulted in elevated liver/body weight ratio, hepatic triglyceride/cholesterol accumulation, and histopathological lipidosis, confirming MAFLD progression. Mechanistically, chronic oral exposure to PCB138 induced multi-organ dysregulation, characterized by: (i) intestinal barrier disruption, (ii) gut microbiota dysbiosis, (iii) disruption of the gut-liver bile acid axis accompanied by hepatic accumulation of lithocholic acid (LCA), taurolithocholic acid (TLCA), taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA), and glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA), and (iv) upregulated hepatic fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression, thereby accelerating de novo lipogenesis. TB administration for another 8 weeks attenuated these MAFLD manifestations, evidenced by mitigated hepatic lipidosis, repaired intestinal defenses, microbiota normalization, and bile acids rebalance. Using alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) cells, we demonstrated that GDCA activated sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) expression, promoting lipogenesis. This study establishes long-term environmental PCB138 exposure as a driver of MAFLD via gut-liver axis activating lipogenic pathways and microbial-metabolic crosstalk. TB emerges as a potential protective agent by targeting bile acids-mediated SREBP1/FASN signaling, offering insights into environmental pollutant toxicity mitigation and MAFLD management.
研究领域:
环境毒理学
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肝病学
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营养科学
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微生物学
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药理学
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分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Drug Design Development and Therapy
·
2023
·
IF 4.8
Ning Zhang,Tong Liu,Jianan Wang,Yingying Xiao,Ying Zhang,Jun Dai,Zhihong Ma,Donglai Ma
Background Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a chronic disease characterized by excessive lipid deposition in the liver without alcohol or other clear liver-damaging factors. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/silencing information regulator (SIRT)1 signaling pathway plays an important role in MAFLD development. Si-Ni-San (SNS), a traditional Chinese medicine, has shown reducing hepatic lipid deposition in MAFLD rats, however, the underlying mechanisms of SNS are barely understood.Purpose The aim of this research was to investigate the mechanisms of SNS in reducing hepatic lipid deposition in MAFLD rats by regulating AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathways.Methods The components of SNS were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis. MAFLD rats were induced by high-fat and high-cholesterol diet (HFHCD), and treated by SNS. SNS-containing serum and Compound C (AMPK inhibitor) were used to treat palmitic acid (PA)-induced HepG2 cells. To elucidate the potential mechanism, lipid synthesis-related proteins (SREBP-1c and FAS), fatty acid oxidation (PPARα and CPT-1), and AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway (p-AMPK and SIRT1) were assessed by Western blot.Results SNS improved serum lipid levels, liver function and reduced hepatic lipid deposition in MAFLD rats. SNS-containing serum reduced lipid deposition in PA-induced HepG2 cells. SNS could up-regulate protein expressions of PPARα, CPT-1, p-AMPK and SIRT1, and down-regulate protein expressions of SREBP-1c and FAS. Similar effects of SNS-containing serum were observed in PA-induced HepG2 cells. Meanwhile, Compound C weakened the therapeutic effects of SNS-containing serum on lipid deposition.Conclusion SNS could reduce hepatic lipid deposition by inhibiting lipid synthesis and promoting fatty acid oxidation, which might be related with activating the AMPK/SIRT1 signaling pathway. This study could provide a theoretical basis for the clinical use of SNS to treat MAFLD.
研究领域:
药理学
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肝病学
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中医药
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分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Lipids in Health and Disease
·
2024
·
IF 3.9
Xue Ran,Ying-jie Wang,Shi-gang Li,Chi-bing Dai
Background/aims Research has indicated that treatment with rosuvastatin can improve liver pathology in metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) patients and that treatment with Bifidobacterium can improve MAFLD. Therefore, the effects of Bifidobacterium , rosuvastatin , and their combination on related indices in a rat model of diet-induced MAFLD need to be investigated. Methods Forty rats were divided into five groups: the normal diet group (N), high-fat diet (HFD) model group (M), HFD + probiotic group (P), HFD + statin group (S), and HFD + probiotic + statin group (P-S). To establish the MAFLD model, the rats in Groups M, P, S, and P-S were fed a HFD for 8 weeks. The treatments included saline in Group N and either Bifidobacterium , rosuvastatin , or their combination in Groups P, S, and P-S by intragastrical gavage. After 4 weeks of intervention, the rats were euthanized, and samples were harvested to analyze gastrointestinal motility and liver function, pathological changes, inflammatory cytokine production, and the expression of proteins in key signaling pathways. Results HFD feeding significantly increased the body weight, liver index, and insulin resistance (IR) index of the rats, indicating that the MAFLD model was successfully induced. Bifidobacterium reduced the liver of MAFLD rats, while Bifidobacterium with Rosuvastatin decreased the liver index, IR index, and levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in MAFLD rats. The MAFLD model showed altered expression of proteins in signaling pathways that regulate inflammation, increased production of inflammatory cytokines, an elevated MAFLD activity score (MAS), and pathological changes in the liver. The MAFLD model also showed reduced relative counts of intestinal neurons and enteric glial cells (EGCs), altered secretion of gastrointestinal hormones, and slowed gastrointestinal emptying. Bifidobacterium , rosuvastatin , or their combination inhibited these various changes. HFD feeding changed the rats’ gut microbiota, and the tested treatments inhibited these changes. These results suggest that the gastrointestinal motility disorder and abnormal liver function in MAFLD rats may be related to a reduction in Escherichia-Shigella bacteria and an increase in Asticcacaulis bacteria in the gut microbiota and that the improvement in liver function induced by Bifidobacterium plus rosuvastatin may be related to increases in Sphingomonas and Odoribacter bacteria and a decrease in Turicibacter bacteria in the gut microbiota. Conclusions The combined use of Bifidobacterium and rosuvastatin could better regulate the gut microbiota of MAFLD model rats, promote gastrointestinal emptying, and improve liver pathology and function than single treatment with Bifidobacterium or rosuvastatin . This provides a better strategy for the treatment of MAFLD.
研究领域:
胃肠病学
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肝病学
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微生物学
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药理学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY
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2022
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IF 3.889
Shuhua Shen,Kungen Wang,Yihui Zhi,Yue Dong
Context Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common chronic liver disease, can develop into metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Gypenosides (GP), the main phytochemical component of Gynostemma pentaphylla (Thunb.) Makino (Cucurbitaceae), have been applied for treatment of metabolic diseases.Objective We investigate how GP modulate MAFLD-related hepatic steatosis and intestinal barrier injury.Materials and methods In cell experiments, Caco-2 cells were treated with GP (150 or 200 μmol/L, 24 h), following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure (10 μg/mL, 24 h) to mimic MAFLD in vitro. In in vivo experiments, control, model and model + GP groups were set. High fructose diet/high fat (HFD/HF)-fed (12 weeks) MAFLD rats received GP treatment (300 mg/kg, 6 weeks), followed by intra-peritoneal glucose tolerance test and histopathological examination of rat liver and intestinal mucosa using haematoxylin–eosin staining.Results GP at 200 μM significantly reversed LPS-induced decreases in transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) value (25%), protein expression of occludin (two fold) and ZO-1 (four fold), and the ratio of p-AMPK to AMPK (five fold), while partially repressing LPS-induced leakage of FD4 (50%) and LPS-induced increases in the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) level (50%) and the ratio of p-p65 to p65 (55%). Compared with the model rats, rats with GP treatment presented a reduction in gain of weight and glucose tolerance. In addition, GP alleviated HFD/HF-induced histopathological abnormalities in rat liver and intestinal mucosa.Conclusions GP attenuates hepatic steatosis and intestinal barrier injury in MAFLD rats via the AMPK and TLR4/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathways, providing a potential treatment for MAFLD patients.
研究领域:
药理学
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肝病学
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营养学
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细胞生物学
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病理学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
DNA AND CELL BIOLOGY
·
2022
·Vol. 41
·期 12
·1038-1052
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IF 3.55
Qianyu Tang,Wenhui Liu,Xuefeng Yang,Yaying Tian,Jiacheng Chen,Yang Hu,Nian Fu
Despite activated autophagy ameliorating hepatocyte steatosis and metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), mechanisms underlying the beneficial roles of autophagy in hepatic deregulation of lipid metabolism remain undefined. We explored whether autophagy can ameliorate oleic acid (OA)-induced hepatic steatosis by suppressing pyroptosis. Pyroptosis is involved in hepatocyte steatosis induced by OA. In addition, autophagy flux was blocked in OA-treated hepatocytes. Treatment with OA induced lipid accumulation in liver cell line L-02, which was attenuated by rapamycin (Rap), an autophagy agonist, while aggravated by autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1). Inversely, treatment with pyroptotic agonist Nigericin aggravated OA-induced hepatic steatosis, while pyroptosis antagonist disulfiram ameliorated this effect. Mechanistically, treatment with Rap downregulated the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins, including NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-18, GSDMD expression evoked by OA, thus improving pyroptosis in hepatic steatosis. Significantly, overexpression of ATG5 obviously downregulated cleaved caspase-1 expressions without altering the total caspase1 expressions in hepatic cell steatosis. Taken together, our studies strongly demonstrated that the activation of ATG5 inhibits pyroptosis to improve hepatic steatosis and suggest autophagy activation as a potential therapeutic strategy for pyroptosis-mediated MAFLD.
研究领域:
肝脏病学
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细胞生物学
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分子生物学
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药理学
✓ 已验证
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY
·
2024
·
IF 5.3
Yufeng Dai,Jinxiang Chen,Jialong Fang,Shuxiao Liang,Hao Zhang,Haitao Li,Wei Chen
Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) encompasses a broad spectrum of hepatic disorders, including hyperglycemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. Piperlongumine (PL), a natural amide alkaloid extracted from the fruits of Piper longum L., exhibited hepatoprotective effects in zebrafish and liver injury mice. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of PL on MAFLD and its underlying mechanisms. The findings demonstrate that PL effectively combats MAFLD induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and improves metabolic characteristics in mice. Additionally, our results suggest that the anti-MAFLD effect of PL is attributed to the suppression of excessive hepatic gluconeogenesis, inhibition of de novo lipogenesis, and alleviation of insulin resistance. Importantly, the results indicate that, on the one hand, the hypoglycemic effect of PL is closely associated with CREB-regulated transcriptional coactivators (CRTC2)-dependent cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation; on the other hand, the lipid-lowering effect of PL is attributed to reducing the nuclear localization of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins 1c (Srebp-1c). Mechanistically, PL could alleviate insulin resistance induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress by antagonizing the thromboxane A 2 receptor (TP)/Ca 2+ signaling, and the TP receptor serves as the potential target for PL in the treatment of MAFLD. Therefore, our results suggested PL effectively improved the major hallmarks of MAFLD induced by HFD, highlighting a potential therapeutic strategy for MAFLD.
研究领域:
药理学
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肝病学
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代谢学
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分子生物学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
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