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Lactoferrin Prevents Hepatic Injury and Fibrosis via the Inhibition of NF-κB Signaling in a Rat Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Model.

ABSTRACT: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can cause liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with cases increasing worldwide. To reduce the incidence of liver cirrhosis and HCC, NASH is targeted for the development of treatments, along with viral hepatitis and alcoholic hepatitis. Lactoferrin (LF) has antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, whether LF affects NASH and fibrosis remains unelucidated. We aimed to clarify the chemopreventive effect of LF on NASH progression. We used a NASH model with metabolic syndrome established using connexin 32 (Cx32) dominant negative transgenic (Cx32ΔTg) rats. Cx32ΔTg rats (7 weeks old) were fed a high-fat diet and intraperitoneally injected with dimethylnitrosamine (DMN). Rats were divided into three groups for LF treatment at 0, 100, or 500 mg/kg/day for 17 weeks. Lactoferrin significantly protected steatosis and lobular inflammation in Cx32ΔTg rat livers and attenuated bridging fibrosis or liver cirrhosis induced by DMN. By quantitative RT-PCR, LF significantly down-regulated inflammatory (Tnf-α, Il-6, Il-18, and Il-1β) and fibrosis-related (Tgf-β1, Timp2, and Col1a1) cytokine mRNAs. Phosphorylated nuclear factor (NF)-κB protein decreased in response to LF, while phosphorylated JNK protein was unaffected. These results indicate that LF might act as a chemopreventive agent to prevent hepatic injury, inflammation, and fibrosis in NASH via NF-κB inactivation.

SUBMITTER: Aoyama Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8746867 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundHepatic fibrosis is a widespread disease worldwide. Millions of people lose their lives due to hepatic fibrosis every year. The main causes of hepatic fibrosis include viral infection, alcoholism, and obesity. Many studies have been conducted on the single factors that cause hepatic fibrosis; however, no studies have examined whether hepatic fibrosis caused by multiple factors has concomitant expression molecules and signaling pathways. In this study, we sought to analyze the common differentially expressed messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs) of hepatic fibrosis caused by different factors, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatic fibrosis, alcoholic hepatic fibrosis, and non-alcoholic hepatic fibrosis, and identify potential preventive and therapeutic targets.MethodsThe GSE171294, GSE142530, and GSE126848 datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public database were used in this study. A |log fold change| >0.5 and a P value <0.05 were defined as differentially expressed mRNAs via R software screening. To further screen the target mRNAs, the differential mRNAs were subjected to a functional enrichment analysis based on the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. Finally, the relationships between differentially expressed mRNA-encoded proteins were analyzed by a protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis.ResultsA total of 54 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. The KEGG analysis showed that the functions of different mRNAs mainly focused on Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) secretion, bile secretion and insulin secretion. The GO enrichment analysis showed that the differential mRNAs were mainly present in the cytoplasmic membrane region and exerted biological functions, such as activating channels and binding proteins by regulating biological processes (BPs), such as cells, cytoskeleton and heparin. The PPI network analysis revealed 16 nodes with 12 pairs of interactions. The 16 critical nodes included BCL6, CD4, CD24, IL32, CALD1, TRAF3, SOX9, KANSL3, MRGBP, PKD2, PKHD1, SYT1, ANXA4, KCNMA1, KCNN2, and CACNA1H.ConclusionsKCNN2, CD4, CD24, BCL6, KCNMA1, and other molecules obtained by the bioinformatics analysis of the RNA-sequencing data can be used as new research targets for hepatic fibrosis induced by different causes. Our findings could provide novel ideas for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Project description:The fatty acid translocase, also known as CD36, is a well-established scavenger receptor for fatty acid (FA) uptake and is abundantly expressed in many metabolically active tissues. In the liver, CD36 is known to contribute to the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and to the more severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, by promoting triglyceride accumulation and subsequent lipid-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Given the recent discovery that the hepatocyte-secreted proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) blocks CD36 expression, we sought to investigate the role of PCSK9 in liver fat accumulation and injury in response to saturated FAs and in a mouse model of diet-induced hepatic steatosis. Methods:In this study, we investigated the role of PCSK9 on the uptake and accumulation of FAs, as well as FA-induced toxicity, in a variety of cultured hepatocytes. Diet-induced hepatic steatosis and liver injury were also assessed in Pcsk9 -/- mice. Results:Our results indicate that PCSK9 deficiency in cultured hepatocytes increased the uptake and accumulation of saturated and unsaturated FAs. In the presence of saturated FAs, PCSK9 also protected cultured hepatocytes from ER stress and cytotoxicity. In line with these findings, a metabolic challenge using a high-fat diet caused severe hepatic steatosis, ER stress inflammation and fibrosis in the livers of Pcsk9 -/- mice compared to controls. Given that inhibition of CD36 ablated the observed accumulation of lipid in vitro and in vivo, our findings also highlight CD36 as a strong contributor to steatosis and liver injury in the context of PCSK9 deficiency. Conclusions:Collectively, our findings demonstrate that PCSK9 regulates hepatic triglyceride content in a manner dependent on CD36. In the presence of excess dietary fats, PCSK9 can also protect against hepatic steatosis and liver injury. Lay summary:The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a circulating protein known to reduce the abundance of receptors on the surface of liver cells charged with the task of lipid uptake from the circulation. Although PCSK9 deficiency is known to cause lipid accumulation in mice and in cultured cells, the toxicological implications of this observation have not yet been reported. In this study, we demonstrate that PCSK9 can protect against cytotoxicity in cultured liver cells treated with a saturated fatty acid and we also show that Pcsk9 knockout mice develop increased liver injury in response to a high-fat diet.

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Lactoferrin Prevents Hepatic Injury and Fibrosis via the Inhibition of NF-κB Signaling in a Rat Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis Model.

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