Anti-fibrosis effect and mechanism of total flavones of Bidens bipinnata L on immunological liver fibrosis in rats

Aim To observe the anti-fibros is effect and mechanism of total flavones of Bidens bipinnata L(TFB) on immunological liver fibrosis in rats.Methods The pig serum was injected into abdominal cavity(0.5 ml,twice a week) for 12 weeks so as to induce hepatic fibrosis,and then the rats were treated with TFB daily for 10 weeks and killed at the 22 nd week.The HA,LN,PCⅢ and CⅣ in serum were assessed by ELISA.Liver samples collected after experiment were stained with hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining,Masson staining and scored.The expression of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) in liver was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.The gene expression of TGF-β1 was detected by RT-PCR.Results Compared with model group,TFB treatment significantly reduced HA,LN,PCⅢ,CⅣ content in serum.Liver histology in the TFB treated rats was also improved.Moreover TFB could decrease the expression of protein α-SMA and TGF-β1 mRNA.Conclusions TFB significantly reduced pig serum-induced liver fibrosis in rats,probably by decreasing the expression of TGF-β1 mRNA and then inhibiting the proliferation of HSC.