@article{APS7287,
author = {Qiong Liu and Jing Chen and Xu Wang and Liang Yu and Li-hong Hu and Xu Shen},
title = {Withagulatin A inhibits hepatic stellate cell viability and procollagen I production through Akt and Smad signaling pathways},
journal = {Acta Pharmacologica Sinica},
volume = {31},
number = {8},
year = {2016},
keywords = {},
abstract = {Aim: To investigate the effects of the natural product Withagulatin A on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) viability and type I procollagen production. The potential mechanism underlying the pharmacological actions was also explored.
Methods: The effect of Withagulatin A on cell viability was evaluated in HSC and LX-2 cells using a sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed using flow cytometry. Type I procollagen gene expression was determined using real-time PCR. Regulation of signaling molecules by Withagulatin A was detected using Western blotting.
Results: Primary rat HSCs and the human hepatic stellate cell line LX-2 treated with Withagulatin A (0.625-20 μmol/L) underwent a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability, which was associated with S phase arrest and the induction of cell apoptosis. In addition, the natural product decreased phosphorylation of the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway that controls cell proliferation and survival. Furthermore, Withagulatin A (1, 2 μmol/L) inhibited transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) stimulated type I procollagen gene expression, which was attributable to the suppression of TGF-β stimulated Smad2 and Smad3 phosphorylation.
Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that Withagulatin A potently inhibited HSC viability and type I procollagen production, thereby implying that this natural product has potential use in the development of anti-fibrogenic reagents for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.},
issn = {1745-7254}, url = {http://www.chinaphar.com/article/view/7287}
}