Inhibitory effect of N-acetylcysteine serum on transforming growth factor-β and collagen type I in bone marrow derived fibroblasts of outbred rats

Objective To explore the inhibitory effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on transforming growth factor β(TGF- β) and type I collagen in bone marrow fibroblasts. Methods the male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were selected and randomly divided into normal serum and N-acetylcysteine(NAC) serum group with 18 SD rats for each group.Both were prepared by gastrostomy and diluted by DMEM medium, and the fibroblasts were cultured in vitro.The proliferation rate of fibroblasts was detected by MTT method after identified by immunofluorescence.The expressions of TGF-β and type I collagen were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)and quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR). Results The proliferation rate of fibroblasts from N-acetylcysteine(NAC) serum was significantly lower than that of normal serum group [(42.51±2.62)% vs. (71.62±4.51)%, t=21.635, P<0.05], TGF-β and type I collagen expression level was significantly lower than that of normal serum group [(27.91±5.73) ratio (35.61±6.4)2 μmol/L, t=10.235, P<0.05; (21.21±4.62) vs. (28.72±5.91), t=9.658, P<0.05], mRNA expression level was significantly lower than that of normal serum group [(0.25±0.10) vs. (0.46±0.11), t=12.525, P<0.05; (0.13±0.06) vs. (0.40±0.10), t=8.652, P<0.05]. Conclusion N-acetylcysteine(NAC)could have certain inhibitory effects on the proliferation of bone marrow fibroblasts TGF-β and type I collagen. Key words: N-acetylcysteine; Myelofibrosis; Fibroblast; Transforming growth factor-β; Collagen I