METHODS: Hepatotoxicity was induced in adult female Wistar rats using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ). Thirty-six rats were randomly divided into six groups with six rats in each group: Group 1 (normal control group), Group 2 (received only CCl 4 ), Group 3 (CCl 4 +low dose BM-MSCs), Group 4 (CCl 4 +high dose BM-MSCs), Group 5 (CCl 4 + silymarin), Group 6 (CCl 4 +silymarin+high dose BM-MSCs). Thirty days after the treatment, blood samples were collected for hepatocyte growth factor estimation. The rats were then killed, bone marrow was extracted for chromosomal aberration assay. Liver tissue was processed for evaluating the DNA fragmentation assay, histopathology, and scanning electron microscopy study.
RESULTS: Combination treatment of silymarin and high dose BM-MSCs significantly (P
Materials and methods: Hepatotoxicity was induced with intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (1 mL/kg b.wt.) once a week for 12 weeks. The hepato- and DNA protective effects of the extracts in different combinations were compared with that of a standard drug Clavazin (200 mg/kg b.wt.). Tissue alanine aminotransferase, alpha-fetoprotein, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), isoprostanes-2α, malondialdehyde, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, the significant hallmarks of oxidative stress, were studied.
Results: Histopathological findings of the liver sections from the rat group which received CCl4+cabralealactone, solasodin, and salvadorin demonstrated improved centrilobular hepatocyte regeneration with moderate areas of congestion and infiltration comparable with Clavazin. For in silico study, the identified compounds were subjected to molecular docking with cyclooxygenase-2 and TNF-α followed by a molecular dynamics study, which indicated their potential as anti-inflammatory agents.
Conclusion: Cabralealactone, solasodin, and salvadorin confer some hepatoprotective and DNA-damage protective effects against CCl4-induced toxicity. They successfully restored the normal architecture of hepatocytes and have the potential to be used as inhibitor to main culprits, that is, cyclooxygenase-2 and TNF-α. They can combat oxidative stress and liver injuries both as mono and combinational therapies. However, combination therapy has more ameliorating effects.
METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with CCl4 for 8 weeks to induce irreversible liver fibrosis. Ex-vivo expanded, pooled human MSCs obtained from BM and WJ were intravenously administered into rats with liver fibrosis at a dose of 10 × 106 cells/animal. Sham control and vehicle-treated animals served as negative and disease controls, respectively. The animals were sacrificed at 30 and 70 days after cell transplantation and hepatic-hydroxyproline content, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed.
RESULTS: BM-MSCs treatment showed a marked reduction in liver fibrosis as determined by Masson's trichrome and Sirius red staining as compared to those treated with the vehicle. Furthermore, hepatic-hydroxyproline content and percentage collagen proportionate area were found to be significantly lower in the BM-MSCs-treated group. In contrast, WJ-MSCs treatment showed less reduction of fibrosis at both time points. Immunohistochemical analysis of BM-MSCs-treated liver samples showed a reduction in α-SMA+ myofibroblasts and increased number of EpCAM+ hepatic progenitor cells, along with Ki-67+ and human matrix metalloprotease-1+ (MMP-1+) cells as compared to WJ-MSCs-treated rat livers.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that BM-MSCs are more effective than WJ-MSCs in treating liver fibrosis in a CCl4-induced model in rats. The superior therapeutic activity of BM-MSCs may be attributed to their expression of certain MMPs and angiogenic factors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In hepatoprotective activity, liver damage was induced by treating rats with 1.0 mL carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)/kg and MEA extract was administered at a dose of 50, 250 and 500 mg/kg 24 h before intoxication with CCl4. Cytotoxicity study was performed on MCF-7 (human breast cancer), DBTRG (human glioblastoma), PC-3 (human prostate cancer) and U2OS (human osteosarcoma) cell lines. 1H, 13C-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), and IR (infrared) spectral analyses were also conducted for MEA extract.
RESULTS: In hepatoprotective activity evaluation, MEA extract at a higher dose level of 500 mg/kg showed significant (p<0.05) potency. In cytotoxicity study, MEA extract was more toxic towards MCF-7 and DBTRG cell lines causing 78.7% and 64.3% cell death, respectively. MEA extract in 1H, 13C-NMR, and IR spectra exhibited bands, signals and J (coupling constant) values representing aromatic/phenolic constituents.
CONCLUSIONS: From the results, it could be concluded that MEA extract has potency to inhibit hepatotoxicity and MCF-7 and DBTRG cancer cell lines which might be due to the phenolic compounds depicted from NMR and IR spectra.