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Wu H, Lou T, Pan M, Wei Z, Yang X, Liu L, Feng M, Shi L, Qu B, Cong S, Chen K, Yang H, Liu J, Li Y, Jia Z, Xiao H. Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang Decoction attenuates nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by enhancing intestinal barrier integrity and ameliorating PPARα mediated lipotoxicity. J Ethnopharmacol 2024; 326:117841. [PMID: 38310988 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.117841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a prominent cause of liver-related death that poses a threat to global health and is characterized by severe hepatic steatosis, lobular inflammation, and ballooning degeneration. To date, no Food and Drug Administration-approved medicine is commercially available. The Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang Decoction (CGGD) shows potential curative effects on regulation of blood lipids and blood glucose, mitigation of organism inflammation, and amelioration of hepatic function. However, the overall regulatory mechanisms underlying its effects on NASH remain unclear. PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of CGGD on methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD)-induced NASH and unravel its underlying mechanisms. METHODS A NASH model of SD rats was established using an MCD diet for 8 weeks, and the efficacy of CGGD was evaluated based on hepatic lipid accumulation, inflammatory response, and fibrosis. The effects of CGGD on the intestinal barrier, metabolic profile, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) profile were analyzed by integrating gut microbiota, metabolomics, and transcriptome sequencing to elucidate its mechanisms of action. RESULTS In MCD-induced NASH rats, pathological staining demonstrated that CGGD alleviated lipid accumulation, inflammatory cell infiltration, and fibrosis in the hepatic tissue. After CGGD administration, liver index, liver weight, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) contents, liver triglycerides (TG), and free fatty acids (FFAs) were decreased, meanwhile, it down-regulated the level of proinflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, MCP-1), and up-regulated the level of anti-inflammatory factors (IL-4, IL-10), and the expression of liver fibrosis markers TGFβ, Acta2, Col1a1 and Col1a2 were weakened. Mechanistically, CGGD treatment altered the diversity of intestinal flora, as evidenced by the depletion of Allobaculum, Blautia, norank_f_Erysipelotrichaceae, and enrichment of the probiotic genera Roseburia, Lactobacillus, Lachnoclostridium, etc. The colonic histopathological results indicated that the gut barrier damage recovered in the CGGD treatment group, and the expression levels of colonic short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-specific receptors FFAR2, FFAR3, and tight junction (TJs) proteins ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-1 were increased compared with those in the model group. Further metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses suggested that CGGD mitigated the lipotoxicity caused by glycerophospholipid and eicosanoid metabolism disorders by decreasing the levels of PLA2G4A, LPCAT1, COX2, and LOX5. In addition, CGGD could activate the inhibitory lipotoxic transcription factor PPARα, regulate the proteins of FABP1, APOC2, APOA2, and LPL to promote fatty acid catabolism, and suppress the TLR4/MyD88/NFκB pathway to attenuate NASH. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated that CGGD improved steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis on NASH through enhancing intestinal barrier integrity and alleviating PPARα mediated lipotoxicity, which makes it an attractive candidate for potential new strategies for NASH prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Tianyu Lou
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Mingxia Pan
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Zuying Wei
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Xiaoqin Yang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Lirong Liu
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Menghan Feng
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Lixia Shi
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Biqiong Qu
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Shiyu Cong
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Kui Chen
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Haolan Yang
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Jie Liu
- Beijing Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yueting Li
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Zhixin Jia
- Beijing Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Hongbin Xiao
- School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China; Beijing Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
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Cui L, Li C, Shang Y, Li D, Zhuo Y, Yang L, Cui N, Li Y, Zhang S. Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang Decoction Ameliorates Pancreatic Fibrosis via JNK/mTOR Signaling Pathway. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:679557. [PMID: 34177589 PMCID: PMC8223066 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.679557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic fibrosis is a pathological characteristic of chronic pancreatitis (CP) and pancreatic cancer. Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiang Decoction (CGGD) is a traditional Chinese medicine, which is widely used in the clinical treatment of digestive diseases. However, the potential anti-fibrosis mechanism of CGGD in treating CP remains unclear. Here, we conducted a series of experiments to examine the effect of CGGD on the CP rat model and primary isolated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). The results revealed that CGGD attenuated pancreatic damage, decreased collagen deposition, and inhibited PSC activation in the pancreas of CP rats. However, compared with the CP group, CGGD had no effect on body weight and serum amylase and lipase. In addition, CGGD suppressed autophagy by downregulating Atg5, Beclin-1, and LC3B and facilitated phosphorylation of mTOR and JNK in pancreatic tissues and PSCs. Moreover, the CGGD-containing serum also decreased LC3B or collagen I expression after rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor) or SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) treatment in PSCs. In conclusion, CGGD attenuated pancreatic fibrosis and PSC activation, possibly by suppressing autophagy of PSCs through the JNK/mTOR signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihua Cui
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Caixia Li
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Ye Shang
- Institute of TCM, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Dihua Li
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yuzhen Zhuo
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Lei Yang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Naiqiang Cui
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Yuhong Li
- Institute of TCM, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Shukun Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Acute Abdomen Disease Associated Organ Injury and ITCWM Repair, Institute of Acute Abdominal Diseases of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Nankai Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
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