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Lycium barbarum polysaccharides protect rat liver from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-induced injury.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) are antioxidant and neuroprotective derivative from Wolfberry. However, whether LBP has a protective effect in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-induced hepatic injury is still unknown. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the possible hepatoprotective effects and mechanisms of LBP on a diet-induced NASH rat model. METHODS AND DESIGN: In this study, female rats were fed a high-fat diet to induce NASH with or without an oral 1?mg?kg(-1) LBP feeding daily for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, blood serum and liver samples from each rat were subjected to histological analysis, biochemical and molecular measurements. RESULTS: Compared with control rats, NASH rats showed typical NASH features including an increase in liver injury, lipid content, fibrosis, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. In contrast, NASH+LBP-co-treated rats showed (1) improved histology and free fatty acid levels; (2) re-balance of lipid metabolism; (3) reduction in profibrogenic factors through the TGF-?/SMAD pathway; (4) improved oxidative stress through cytochrome P450 2E1-dependent pathway; (5) reduction in hepatic pro-inflammatory mediators and chemokines production; and (6) amelioration of hepatic apoptosis through the p53-dependent intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. The preventive effects of LBP were partly modulated through the PI3K/Akt/FoxO1, LKB1/AMPK, JNK/c-Jun and MEK/ERK pathways and the downregulation of transcription factors in the liver, such as nuclear factor-?B and activator protein-1. CONCLUSION: LBP is a novel hepatoprotective agent against NASH caused by abnormal liver metabolic functions.

SUBMITTER: Xiao J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3730220 | biostudies-other | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Lycium barbarum polysaccharides protect rat liver from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-induced injury.

Xiao J J Liong E C EC Ching Y P YP Chang R C C RC Fung M L ML Xu A M AM So K F KF Tipoe G L GL

Nutrition & diabetes 20130722

<h4>Background</h4>Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) are antioxidant and neuroprotective derivative from Wolfberry. However, whether LBP has a protective effect in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-induced hepatic injury is still unknown.<h4>Objective</h4>We aimed to study the possible hepatoprotective effects and mechanisms of LBP on a diet-induced NASH rat model.<h4>Methods and design</h4>In this study, female rats were fed a high-fat diet to induce NASH with or without an oral 1 mg kg ...[more]

PMID: 23877747

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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.

Project description:Objective: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by gut microbiota dysbiosis, which is also frequently observed in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Whether gut microbiota dysbiosis in IBD patients promotes the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) remains unclear. We aimed to explore the role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the development of NASH in mice with dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS) induced colitis. Design: Dextran sulfate sodium salt was used to induce colitis, and high fat (HF), in combination with a high-fructose diet, was used to induce NASH in C57BL/6J male mice. Mice were treated with (1%) DSS to induce colitis in cycles, and each cycle consisted of 7 days of DSS administration followed by a 10-day interval. The cycles were repeated throughout the experimental period of 19 weeks. Pathological alterations in colitis and NASH were validated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), oil red O, Sirius red staining, and immunofluorescence. Gut microbiota was examined by 16S rRNA sequencing, and gene expression profiles of hepatic non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) were detected by RNA sequencing. Results: Dextran sulfate sodium salt administration enhanced the disruption of the gut–vascular barrier and aggravated hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in mice with NASH. DSS-induced colitis was accompanied by gut microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by alteration in the core microbiota composition. Compared with the HF group, the abundance of p_Proteobacteria and g_Bacteroides increased, while that of f_S24-7 decreased in the DSS + HF mice. Specifically, gut microbiota dysbiosis was characterized by enrichment of lipopolysaccharide producing bacteria and decreased abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria. Gene expression analysis of liver NPCs indicated that compared with the HF group, genes related to both inflammatory response and angiocrine signaling were altered in the DSS + HF group. The expression levels of inflammation-related and vascular development genes correlated significantly with the abundance of p_Proteobacteria, g_Bacteroides, or f_S24-7 in the gut microbiota, implying that gut microbiota dysbiosis induced by DSS might aggravate hepatic inflammation and fibrosis by altering the gene expression in NPCs. Conclusion: Dextran sulfate sodium salt-induced colitis may promote the progression of liver inflammation and fibrosis by inducing microbiota dysbiosis, which triggers an inflammatory response and disrupts angiocrine signaling in liver NPCs. The abundance of gut microbiota was associated with expression levels of inflammation-related genes in liver NPCs and may serve as a potential marker for the progression of NASH.

Project description:This paper is based upon the "Charles Lieber Satellite Symposia" organized by Manuela G. Neuman at the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Annual Meetings, 2013 and 2014. The present review includes pre-clinical, translational and clinical research that characterize alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In addition, a literature search in the discussed area was performed. Strong clinical and experimental evidence lead to recognition of the key toxic role of alcohol in the pathogenesis of ALD. The liver biopsy can confirm the etiology of NASH or alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and assess structural alterations of cells, their organelles, as well as inflammatory activity. Three histological stages of ALD are simple steatosis, ASH, and chronic hepatitis with hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis. These latter stages may also be associated with a number of cellular and histological changes, including the presence of Mallory's hyaline, megamitochondria, or perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis. Genetic polymorphisms of ethanol metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome p450 (CYP) 2E1 activation may change the severity of ASH and NASH. Alcohol mediated hepatocarcinogenesis, immune response to alcohol in ASH, as well as the role of other risk factors such as its co-morbidities with chronic viral hepatitis in the presence or absence of human immunodeficiency virus are discussed. Dysregulation of hepatic methylation, as result of ethanol exposure, in hepatocytes transfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), illustrates an impaired interferon signaling. The hepatotoxic effects of ethanol undermine the contribution of malnutrition to the liver injury. Dietary interventions such as micro and macronutrients, as well as changes to the microbiota are suggested. The clinical aspects of NASH, as part of metabolic syndrome in the aging population, are offered. The integrative symposia investigate different aspects of alcohol-induced liver damage and possible repair. We aim to (1) determine the immuno-pathology of alcohol-induced liver damage, (2) examine the role of genetics in the development of ASH, (3) propose diagnostic markers of ASH and NASH, (4) examine age differences, (5) develop common research tools to study alcohol-induced effects in clinical and pre-clinical studies, and (6) focus on factors that aggravate severity of organ-damage. The intention of these symposia is to advance the international profile of the biological research on alcoholism. We also wish to further our mission of leading the forum to progress the science and practice of translational research in alcoholism.

Dataset Information

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides protect rat liver from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-induced injury.

Publications

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides protect rat liver from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-induced injury.

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