Abstract
One of the most common causes of chronic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is strongly associated with obesity and dysregulated insulin action in the liver. However, there are no pharmacological agents currently established for the treatment of NAFLD. A flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, Cirsium japonicum (CJ), exhibits a variety of pharmacological and antioxidative properties that promote hepatoprotection. In the present study, CJ ethanol extract was shown to reduce hepatic triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol accumulation. CJ significantly increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation in HepG2 hepatocytes and downregulated the level of the target genes, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase. In addition, CJ upregulated the expression of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1, which is involved in fatty acid oxidation. The results of the present study indicated that the positive effects of CJ extract on high-fat diet-induced hepatic TG accumulation were mediated via the AMPK signaling pathway, indicating a potential target for the preventative treatment of NAFLD.
Highlights
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by increased fat deposits in the liver and can precede more severe diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and in certain cases, hepatocellular carcinoma [1]
When treated with HFFA for 24 h to induce conditions of hepatic steatosis, 14.3% cytotoxicity was observed in the cells
When Cirsium japonicum (CJ) was simultaneously administered for 24 h, hepatic lipid accumulation significantly decreased (Fig. 2)
Summary
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by increased fat deposits in the liver and can precede more severe diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and in certain cases, hepatocellular carcinoma [1]. According to a previous epidemiological survey, NAFLD is highly prevalent, affecting ~20% of the general population [2]. NAFLD is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome and associated obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia. Cellular FFA loading is commonly utilized to develop in vitro models of steatosis and these models can reliably reproduce key features of hepatic steatosis in humans [7,8]
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