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Casticin attenuates liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation by blocking TGF-?/Smad signaling pathway.

ABSTRACT: Although many advances have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, few options are available for treatment. Casticin, one of the major flavonoids in Fructus Viticis extracts, has shown hepatoprotective potential, but its effects on liver fibrosis are not clear. In this study, we investigated the antifibrotic activity of casticin and its underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro. Male mice were injected intraperitoneally with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or underwent bile duct ligation (BDL) to induce liver fibrosis, followed by treatment with casticin or vehicle. In addition, transforming growth factor-?1(TGF-?1)-activated LX-2 cells were used. In vivo experiments showed that treatment with casticin alone had no toxic effect while significantly attenuating CCl4-or BDL-induced liver fibrosis, as indicated by reductions in the density of fibrosis, hydroxyproline content, expression of ?-SMA and collagen ?1(I) mRNA. Moreover, casticin inhibited LX2 proliferation, induced apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner in vitro. The underlying molecular mechanisms for the effect of casticin involved inhibition of hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 resulting from blocking TGF-?1/Smad signaling, as well as increased the apoptosis of HSCs. The results suggest that casticin has potential benefits in the attenuation and treatment of liver fibrosis.

SUBMITTER: Zhou L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5593560 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Casticin attenuates liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation by blocking TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

Zhou Ling L Dong Xiaoying X Wang Linlin L Shan Lanlan L Li Ting T Xu Wanfu W Ding Yan Y Lai Mingqiang M Lin Xiaojun X Dai Meng M Bai Xiaochun X Jia Chunhong C Zheng Hang H

Oncotarget 20170427 34

Although many advances have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, few options are available for treatment. Casticin, one of the major flavonoids in Fructus Viticis extracts, has shown hepatoprotective potential, but its effects on liver fibrosis are not clear. In this study, we investigated the antifibrotic activity of casticin and its underlying mechanism in vivo and in vitro. Male mice were injected intraperitoneally with carbon tetrachloride (CCl< ...[more]

PMID: 28915589

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Project description:Background & aimsTransdifferentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) into myofibroblasts is a key event in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) are canonical HSC activators after liver injury. The aim of this study was to analyze the epigenetic modulators that differentially control TGF-β and PDGF signaling pathways.MethodsWe performed a transcriptomic comparison of HSCs treated with TGF-β or PDGF-BB using RNA sequencing. Among the targets that distinguish these 2 pathways, we focused on the histone methyltransferase class of epigenetic modulators.ResultsEnhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) was expressed differentially, showing significant up-regulation in HSCs activated with TGF-β but not with PDGF-BB. Indeed, EZH2 inhibition using either a pharmacologic (GSK-503) or a genetic (small interfering RNA) approach caused a significant attenuation of TGF-β-induced fibronectin, collagen 1α1, and α-smooth muscle actin, both at messenger RNA and protein levels. Conversely, adenoviral overexpression of EZH2 in HSCs resulted in a significant stimulation of fibronectin protein and messenger RNA levels in TGF-β-treated cells. Finally, we conducted in vivo experiments with mice chronically treated with carbon tetrachloride or bile duct ligation. Administration of GSK-503 to mice receiving either carbon tetrachloride or bile duct ligation led to attenuated fibrosis as assessed by Trichrome and Sirius red stains, hydroxyproline, and α-smooth muscle actin/collagen protein assays.ConclusionsTGF-β and PDGF share redundant and distinct transcriptomic targets, with the former predominating in HSC activation. The EZH2 histone methyltransferase is preferentially involved in the TGF-β as opposed to the PDGF signaling pathway. Inhibition of EZH2 attenuates fibrogenic gene transcription in TGF-β-treated HSCs and reduces liver fibrosis in vivo. The data discussed in this publication have been deposited in NCBI's Gene Expression Omnibus and are accessible through GEO Series accession number GSE119606 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE119606).

Project description:BackgroundIn mice, liver fibrosis is the most serious pathologic change during Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection. Schistosomiasis is mainly characterized by schistosome egg-induced granulomatous fibrosis. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are mainly responsible for the net accumulation of collagens and fibrosis formation in the liver. Activated HSCs regulated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad signaling have emerged as the critical regulatory pathway in hepatitis virus or carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis. However, the detailed mechanism of HSC activation in schistosome-induced liver fibrosis is poorly understood.MethodsSchistosoma japonicum-induced murine models and a control group were generated by abdominal infection with 15 (± 1) cercariae. The purity of cultured primary HSCs was evaluated by immunocytochemistry. The histopathological changes in the livers of infected mice were estimated by hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining. Dynamic expression of pro-fibrotic molecules and microRNAs was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Mainly members involved in the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway were examined via RT-qPCR and Western blot.ResultsThe egg-induced granulomatous inflammation formed at 4 weeks post-infection (wpi) and developed progressively. Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, collagen III, TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 showed a significant increase in mitochondrial RNA (mRNA) and protein expression compared with the control group at 7 and 9 weeks post-infection (wpi), while an opposite effect on Smad7 was observed. In addition, the mRNA expression of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) was significantly increased at 7 wpi, and the mRNA expression of miRNA-454 was decreased starting from 4 wpi.ConclusionOur present findings revealed that HSCs regulated by the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway play an important role in liver fibrosis in S. japonicum-infected mice, which may provide proof of concept for liver fibrosis in schistosomiasis.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Hepatic fibrosis is caused by chronic liver injury and may progress toward liver cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, current treatment is not satisfactory. Therefore, there is a mandate to find novel therapeutic targets to improve therapy, and biomarkers to monitor therapeutic response. METHODS:Liver fibrosis was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or thioacetamide (TAA) in wild type (WT) or CTHRC1-/- mice, followed by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical analyses. CTHRC1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) was used to abrogate the effect of CTHRC1 in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS:Here, we reported that collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1), a secreted protein derived from hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), was significantly up-regulated in fibrotic liver tissues. CTHRC1 promoted HSCs transformation from a quiescent to an activated state, and enhanced migratory or contractile capacities of HSCs by activating TGF-? signaling. Meanwhile, CTHRC1 competitively bound to Wnt noncononical receptor and promoted the contractility but not activation of HSCs. CCl4 or TAA-induced liver fibrosis was attenuated in CTHRC-/- mice compared with littermate control, while a monoclonal antibody of CTHRC1 suppressed liver fibrosis in WT mice treated with CCl4 or TAA. INTERPRETATION:We demonstrated that CTHRC1 is a new regulator of liver fibrosis by modulating TGF-? signaling. Targeting CTHRC1 could be a promising therapeutic approach, which can suppress TGF-? signaling and avoid the side effects caused by directly targeting TGF-?. CTHRC1 could also be a potential biomarker for monitoring response to anti-fibrotic therapy. FUND: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (ID 81672358, 81871923, 81872242, 81802890), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant Support (ID 20181708), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (ID 17ZR1428300, 18ZR1436900), and Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau (ID 2018BR32). The funders did not play a role in manuscript design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation nor writing of the manuscript.

Dataset Information

Casticin attenuates liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation by blocking TGF-?/Smad signaling pathway.

Publications

Casticin attenuates liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation by blocking TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

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