Inhibitory Effects Of Bear Bile On Dimethylnitrosamine-induced Hepatic Fibrosis In Rats

Objective To investigate the effects of bear bile on development of hepatic fibrosis in rats. Methods Hepatic fibrosis was induced in rats by intraperitoneal injection of 1% Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) for 4 weeks. At the same time, Bear bile was administrated at the dose of 400mg/kg once a day for 4 weeks.The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase (AST) , total protein(TP) in serum and ratio of liver/body weight were determined. Direct red staining was used to determine the areas of collagen by colcor image analysis system. EDI and a -SMA expressions were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results Compared with the model group, there were tree kinds of changes in the bear bile treated group. (1) The levels of ALT, AST in serum were significantly decreased (from 72.1U/L to, 45.36U/L, and 344.4U/L to 142.6U/L, respectively, (P<0.001) . However the level of TP in serum and the ratio of liver/body weigh were increased(from 5.032g/dl to 6.815g/dl,and 2.156 to 3.660, respectively, (P<0.001) . (2) The areas of collagen was decreased(from 9.90 6.73 + 131, P<0.001) and the grade of fibrosis was reduced significantly in liver. (3 ) The expressions of EDI and a -SMA in liver were markedly reduced. Conclusion Bear bile can protecthepatocyte from injury and inhibit the progress of hepatic fibrosis in rats,which may associate with the bear bile inhibiting some cytokines that secreted by Kupffer cell and suppressing the activation of hepatic stellate cells.