physalin-d and Liver-Cirrhosis

Hepatic fibrosis is considered integral to the progression of chronic liver diseases, as it leads to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is the dominant event in hepatic fibrogenesis. The transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and Yes-associated protein (YAP) pathways play a pivotal role in HSC activation, hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis progression. Therefore, targeting the TGF-β/Smad and YAP signaling pathways is a promising strategy for antifibrotic therapy.. The present study investigated the protective effects of Physalin D (PD), a withanolide isolated from Physalis species (Solanaceae), against liver fibrosis and further elucidated the mechanisms involved in vitro and in vivo.. We conducted a series of experiments using carbon tetrachloride (CCl. These results clearly show that PD ameliorated experimental liver fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β/Smad and YAP signaling pathways, indicating that PD has the potential to effectively treat liver fibrosis.

Topics: Actins; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; Animals; Carbon Tetrachloride; Cells, Cultured; Collagen Type I; Collagen Type I, alpha 1 Chain; Hepatic Stellate Cells; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Secosteroids; Signal Transduction; Smad Proteins; Transcription Factors; Transforming Growth Factor beta; Transforming Growth Factor beta1; YAP-Signaling Proteins