Differential proteomic analysis of liver plasma membrane in hepatic fibrosis rats treated with Fufang Biejia Ruangan

Objective To probe the membrane protein changes in rats with hepatic fibrosis after the treatment of Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pian. Method This research set up an rat model with porcine sera-induced hepatic fibrosis and the model rats were treated by intragastric infusion of Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pian solution for 8 weeks. Plasma membrane was purified by density gradient centrifugation,the purity of them was verified by Western blot and differential proteomic analysis of liver plasma membrane was done. Result An animal model of hepatic fibrosis was set up successfully at week 8. After treatment with Fufang Biejia Ruangan Pian for eight weeks,the livers returned to normal levels;Western blot analysis showed that the plasma membrane was enriched while the contamination of other subcellular fractions such as mitochondrion reduced. 22 proteins with more than three-fold differences were found and 9 proteins were successfully identified. Western blotting verified the different expression of keratin 8 and annexin A2. Conclusion Fufang Biejia Ru- angan Pian has anti-fibrotic effects by regulating keratin 8 and annexin A2 expression in the plasma membrane during hepatic fibrosis process.