The Effects Of Three Chinese Herbal Medicine Monomers On Liver Steatosis Induced By Free Fatty Acids

Objective:To investigate the effect of Berberine, Matrine or Curcumin on liver steatosis induced by free fatty acids (FFAs).Methods:BALB/c mouse primary hepatocytes were isolated by a two-step collagenase perfusion procedure and cultured in vitro. The cells were divided into control group treated only with culture medium, FFAs group treated with FFAs, and FFAs plus monomer group treated with FFAs plus Berberine, Matrine or Curcumin. The content of triglyceride in the cells was measured by enzymatic method. Liver steatosis was observed by oil red 0 staining. The phosphorylation of MAPK related signal pathway was detected by western blotting. The expressions of miR-122 and relevant target genes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR.Results:.oe down-regulate manner when compared with The contents of triglyceride and fat particles in FFAs plus monomer group were significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner when compared with FFAs group. The phosphorylation of JNK signal pathway induced by FFAs was down-regulated by Berberine, Matrine or Curcumin while the phosphorylation of P38 signal pathway induced by FFAs was down-regulated only by Matrine or Curcumin. Quantitative real-time PCR results showed that these three Chinese herbal medicine monomers could up-regulate the expression of miR-122 but down-regulate the expressions of pimelosis related genes, Dgat2, Fas, Accl and Lrp10.Conclusions:Berberine, Matrine and Curcumin can significantly improve the steatosis induced by FFAs and inhibit the phosphorylation of JNK and P38 pathway, and its mechanisms may be related to miR-122 pathway.