Effects of Gexia Zhuyu Tang on expressions of α-SMA and TGF-β1 in fibrous liver tissues of rats

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect and possible mechanism of Gexiazhuyu decoction on hepatic fibrosis induced by porcine serum in rats.Methods: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups as follows: blank control group,Gexiazhuyu decoction group,porcine serum group,porcine serum plus Gexiazhuyu decoction group.The fibrosis model of rats was achieved by intraperitoneal injection of porcine serum twice weekly for 12 weeks,simultaneously Gexiazhuyu decoction administered daily by gavage for 12 weeks.All rats were sacrificed at the end of experiment,and liver were collected for analysis.The liver histopathology was examined by van Gieson's stain,and the content of TGF-β1 in the liver were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze α-SMA and TGF-β1 mRNA expression in the liver.Results: Compared with the porcine serum group,the histopathology of rats given Gexiazhuyu decoction improved significantly.α-SMA mRNA expressions were decreased significantly,and TGF-β1 mRNA expressions and content in liver were decreased significantly in porcine serum plus Gexiazhuyu decoction group(P 0.05).Conclusions: Gexiazhuyu decoction may exert anti-hepatic fibrosis effect in rats via inhibition of HSC activation