Autophagy is involved in acetylshikonin ameliorating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis through AMPK/mTOR pathway
- Department of Pharmacology, Cardiac and Cerebral Vascular Research Center, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China)
- Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (China)
Highlights: • Acetylshikonin reduces lipotoxicity induced by methionine-choline deficient diet. • Acetylshikonin prevents hepatic fibrosis associated with steatohepatitis in vivo. • Autophagy is involved in acetylshikonin ameliorating steatohepatitis. • Acetylshikonin activates autophagy via AMPK/mTOR pathway. Acetylshikonin (AS), a naphthoquinone constituent derived from Lithospermum erythrorhizon, has been revealed various pharmacological activities including anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and antifertility effects. Our previous study has illuminated the effects of AS on preventing obesity and hepatic steatosis in db/db mice. However, the effects of AS and the molecular mechanisms for curing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have not yet been studied. Autophagy has been considered as a lysosomal degradative pathway responsible for the removal of cellular lipid droplets through a process called lipophagy, which is recognized as a potential therapeutic approach for NASH. Here we hypothesize that autophagy is involved in the beneficial effects of AS on methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet-induced NASH of mice. In this study, we observed that AS treatment ameliorated the pathological signs of NASH, and markedly suppressed the levels of hepatic IL-1β and TNF-α cytokines, and hepatocyte apoptotic cells in MCD diet-induced mice. Moreover, immunological analyses showed that the elevated expression of the fibrotic markers including α-SMA, collegen I, collegen III and fibronectin in MCD diet-induced mice were notably down-regulated by AS treatment. Nevertheless, the beneficial effects of AS on ameliorating NASH were notably counteracted by co-administration of chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor. Furthermore, our data suggested that AS treatment increased hepatocyte autophagy in MCD diet-induced mice via AMPK/mTOR pathway. These findings suggest that AS could be therapeutically effective in the development of NASH by ameliorating steatosis, inflammation, liver injury and fibrosis.
- OSTI ID:
- 23134302
- Journal Information:
- Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 503, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0006-291X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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