Effect of total flavone of Litchi Chinensis Sonn on the expression of TGF-β1 and CTGF of hepatic fibrosis in rats

Objective To investigate the effect and action mechanism of total flavone of Litchi Chinensis Sonn(TFL)on rat model of liver fibrosis induced by bile duct occlusion.Methods One hundred male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: sham operation group,model group,silymarin(SIL) treatment group(50mg·kg-1·d-1),high-dose TFL group(200mg·kg-1·d-1),low-dose TFL group(100mg·kg-1·d-1) group.Bile duct occlusive fibrosis model was prepared by bile duct ligation,whereas the sham operation group was used as controls.After 4-week treatment,the rats were killed.The serum levels of hyaluronic acid(HA),laminin(LN),Ⅲ procollagen(PCⅢ) were determined by RIA,and the liver histopathological changes were observed by light microscopy after HE and Masson staining.The serum levels of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF) were detected by ELISA.The expression of CTGF and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1) in liver tissue was observed by immunohistochemical staining.Results As compared with model group,the serum levels of HA、LN and PCⅢ were significantly decreased(P 0.01),and the liver fibrosis was significantly improved in the rats treated by high-dose TFL and SIL;the serum levels of CTGF were obviously decreased(P0.05) and the expressions of TGF-β1 and CTGF were decreased in the liver of the rats which were given high-dose TFL(P0.05).Conclusion TFL may play a protective role in liver injury,which can inhibit liver fibrosis induced by bile duct ligation.The mechanism may be attributed to its effect of downregulating CTGF and TGF-β1.