The TGF-β₁, COX-2, TNF-α, Smad3 And TLR4 Expressions Of The Hepatic Fibrosis In Rats And The Effects Of Acanthus Ilicifolius

Objective: To study the TGF-β1, COX-2, TNF-α, Smad3 and TLR4 expressions of the hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4 in rats and the effects of Acanthus ilicifolius.Methods: Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: the normal control group, the model control group, the colchicine group, the Ethanol Extract of Acanthus ilicifolius(EEA) low dosage group and the EEA high dosage group. Except the normal control group, the other groups were injected 40% CCl4 vegetable oil solution to establish hepatic fibrosis model. Four weeks later, 2 rats from model control group and 1 rat from normal control group were sacrificed randomly to obtain the livers. The pathological sections stained by HE (hematoxylin and eosin) of the livers were prepared to decide whether the HF model was reproduced. The colchicine group, the EEA low dosage group and the EEA high dosage group were treated with colchicine and EEA respectively, the normal control group and the model control group were treated with normal saline. All rats were sacrificed to obtain the liver tissues after the treatment for four weeks. The TGF-β1 and COX-2 expressions of the liver tissues were detected by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. The TNF-α, Smad3 and TLR4 expressions of the liver tissues were detected by RT-PCR.Results:①Four weeks later, the HF models were establish successfully.②The results of RT-PCR showed that the levels of TGF-β1, COX-2, TNF-α, Smad3 and TLR4 mRNA expressions in model control group were increased compared with normal control group(P<0.01); the levels of TGF-β1, COX-2, TNF-α, Smad3 and TLR4 mRNA expressions in the EEA-treated (1.0, 2.0g·kg-1) groups were decreased compared with model control group(P<0.05).③The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the expressions of TGF-β1 and COX-2 in model control group were obviously increased(P<0.01);the expressions of TGF-β1 and COX-2 in the EEA-treated(1.0, 2.0g·kg-1) groups were obviously decreased(P<0.05).Conclusions: The inhibition of expressions of TGF-β1, COX-2, TNF-α, Smad3 and TLR4 in hepatic fibrosis induced by CCl4 in rats may account for the anti-hepaticfibrosis effects of Acanthus ilicifolius.