Total flavone of Litchi Chinensis Sonn suppressing hepatic fibrosis caused by bile duct ligation in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of treatment with total flavone of Litchi Chinensis Sonn(TFL) on the expression of TGF-β1 and Smad3 /7 in experimental hepatic fibrosis in rats,and to explore its anti-fibrotic mechanism.Methods Eighty male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham-operated group,model group,high-dose TFL group [200 mg /(kg.d) ],low-dose group [100 mg /(kg.d) ].Liver fibrosis model was prepared by bile duct ligation,whereas the sham-operated group was used as controls.The rats were killed at 4 weeks after operation.The liver histopathological changes were observed under light microscopy by HE staining.The expression and orientation of TGF-β1,Smad3 and Smad7 in hapatic fibrosis were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results At the 4th week after operation,the structure of high-dose TFL group was almost restored to normal;hepatic fibrosis score was obviously reduced.The protein expression of TGF-β1,Smad3 were remarkably down-regulated,and Smad7 was significantly up-regulated compared with model group.Low-dose group was no significant difference compared with model group.Conclusion TFL can reverse hepatic fibrosis by controling the protein repression of TGF-β1 and Smad3 /7.