Effects of Tetramethylpyrazine on Expression of CTGF and CollagenI in TGF-β1 Stimulated Hepatic Stellate Cells

To study the effects of tetramethylpyrazine(TMP)on expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF)and collagenⅠin hepatic stellate cell-T6(HSC-T6). HSC-T6 were cultured with TMP at different concentration after transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)stimulation. MTT(3(-4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)colorimetric assay was used for detecting the proliferation inhibition ratio of HSC-T6. Immunocytochemistry was used to test the effect of TMP on the expression of CTGF in HSC-T6. Protein expression level of CTGF was analyzed with Western blot. The expression of collagen I was measured by ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) method. Results showed:TMP inhibited the proliferation of HSC-T6 at the concentration of 100,200,400 and 600 mg / L in a concentration dependent way pattern. The test by immunohistochemical method indicated that the expression of CTGF decreased progressively when the TMP density increased. The comparison between the control group were remarkably discrepant(t = 4.216,P 0.01). TMP also dose-dependently inhibited the protein expression of CTGF anddecreased the synthesis of collagen Ⅰ, the inhibition drgree of which showed a positive correlation (r = 0.861,P 0.01). Inhibiting proliferation of HSC-T6,down-regulating the protein expression of CTGF and decreasing the synthesis of collagenⅠ,might be involved in the anti-fibrosis mechanism of TMP.