The Korea Journal of Herbology (대한본초학회지)

The Korea Association of Herbology (대한본초학회)
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Combination of EHE and Silymarin ameliorates liver fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-β/Smad pathway in LX-2 cells

마황(麻黃)과 Silymarin의 병용이 TGF-β/Smad 경로 억제를 통한 간섬유화 억제효능

  • Sang Mi Park (College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University) ;
  • Hyo Jeong Jin (College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University) ;
  • Ye Lim Kim (College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University) ;
  • Sook Jahr Park (Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Daegu Haany University) ;
  • Sang Chan Kim (College of Korean Medicine, Daegu Haany University)
  • 박상미 (대구한의대학교 한의과대학) ;
  • 진효정 (대구한의대학교 한의과대학) ;
  • 김예림 (대구한의대학교 한의과대학) ;
  • 박숙자 (대구한의대학교 제약공학과) ;
  • 김상찬 (대구한의대학교 한의과대학)
  • Received : 2024.06.10
  • Accepted : 2024.07.25
  • Published : 2024.07.30
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Abstract

Objectives : Ephedrae Herba has been used in the East Asian traditional medicine, for treatment of asthma, cold and influenza. Silymarin is an effective antioxidant and its anti-fibrogenic, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties have been reported. This study was performed to explore an anti-fibrogenic potential of Ephedrae Herba extract (EHE) + silymarin on immortalized human hepatic stellate cell line, LX-2 cells. Methods : We studied the anti-fibrogenic effects of EHE + silymarin on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) signaling pathway in LX-2 cells. Cell viability was measured using the MTT assay. mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR. TGF-β1 signaling-related proteins expression were detected by Western blot. Results : Silymarin 30 ㎍/mL and EHE 100 ㎍/mL showed cytotoxicity on LX-2 cells. Therefore, the concentrations of silymarin and EHE were studied at 10 ㎍/mL, respectively. Silymarin significantly reduced PAI-1 protein expression, Smad binding element (SBE) luciferase activity, and mRNA (PAI-1, MMP2 and 9) expression compared to TGF-β1. EHE significantly reduced SBE luciferase activity and mRNA (PAI-1, MMP2 and 9) expression compared to TGF-β1. More importantly, EHE + silymarin significantly reduced all parameters compared to TGF-β1, and also significantly reduced compared to EHE alone and silymarin alone. Conclusion : The results indicate that EHE + silymarin has anti-fibrogenic effect in LX-2 cells induced by TGF-β1. Additionally, EHE + silymarin shows more effective anti-fibrogenic effect than EHE alone and silymarin alone.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by Korea government (MSIP) (Grant No.2018R1A5A2025272)

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