Anti-fibrotic effects of Kyungheechunggan-tang on activated hepatic stellate cells and rat liver

[摘要] Kyungheechunggan-tang (KHCGT), a mixture of 9 herbal aqueous extracts, is known in traditional Korean hepatoprotective medicine. To investigate the anti-fibrotic effect of KHCGT and its herbal ingredients, hepatic stellate cells (HSC) were activated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and the mRNA and protein expression levels of collagen type-1 (collagen-1) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were measured. KHCGT and its 7 herbal ingredient among 9 herbal ingredients had an anti-fibrotic effect on activated HSC. Among the herbal samples, Artemisia capillaris, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Curcuma wenyujin showed the highest down-regulatory effect on α-SMA and collagen-1 mRNA expression. The liver tissues of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced rats were isolated to investigate the anti-fibrotic effect of KHCGT. This study provides understandings the effect of KHCGT and its ingredient herbal medicines on the activated HSC, and suggests herbal ingredient that plays a major role in anti-fibrotic effect of the KHCGT.

[学科分类] 分子生物学，细胞生物学和基因

[关键词] α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)