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Abstract
Context
Our previous studies indicated that Yiguanjian decoction (YGJ) has an anti-hepatic-fibrosis effect and could regulate macrophage status.
Objective
To elucidate the mechanism of YGJ in regulating macrophages.
Materials and methods
Liver cirrhosis was induced by CCl4 for 12 weeks combined with 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) for the last 4 weeks in male Wistar rats. YGJ (3.56 mg/kg) orally administered in the last 4 weeks, and SORA (1 mg/kg) as control. In vitro, RAW264.7 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) to induce macrophage polarization to the M1 phenotype, and they were co-cultured with WB-F344 cells and allocated to M group, YGJ group (2 μg/mL) and WIF-1 group (1 μg/mL) with untreated cells as control. The differentiation direction of WB-F344 cell line was observed in the presence or absence of YGJ. Pathology, fibrosis-related cytokines, macrophage polarization-related components, and Wnt signalling pathway components were detected.
Results
In vivo, the expression levels of α-SMA, Col (1), OV6, SOX9, EpCAM and M1 macrophage-related components (STAT1, IRF3, IRF5, IRF8, SOCS3) significantly decreased in the YGJ group compared with those in the 2-AAF/CCl4 group (p < 0.01 or 0.05). In vitro, the expression levels of M1 macrophage-related components, including STAT1, NF-κB, IRF3, IRF5, and SOCS3, in RAW264.7 cells decreased significantly in the YGJ group compared with those in the M group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). The expression levels of Wnt3A, FZD5, LRP-5/-6, and β-catenin significantly increased in the YGJ group compared with those in the M group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). In addition, the expression levels of Wnt-4/-5A/-5B, and FZD2 significantly decreased in the YGJ group compared with those in the M group (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01).
Conclusion
This study suggests that the anti-cirrhosis effect of YGJ is associated with its ability to inhibit macrophage M1-polarization, which provides a scientific basis for the clinical application of YGJ.
Acknowledgements
We thank LetPub for the English language editing of this manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
YM and PL designed the experiments; YX, WX, WL, SJ, XJ, and JC performed the experiments; HZ provided the analytical tools; GC provided pathological analysis; YM, YX, and WX analysed the data; and YM and YX drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.