Effects of pentoxifylline on the hepatic content of TGF-β1 and collagen in Schistosomiasis japonica mice with liver fibrosis

AIM: To study the effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) on thecontent of hepatic TGF-β1, type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ collagen inschistosomiasis japonica mice with liver fibrosis and itsmechanism of anti-fibrosis.METHODS: Forty mice with schistosomiasis were dividedinto four groups: one group as control without anytreatment, other three were treated with Praziquantel 500mg/(kg.d)for 2 d, high dose PTX 360 mg/(kg.d) for 8 wk,and low dose PTX 180 mg/(kg.d) for 8 wk respectively.Immunohistochemical technique and multimedia colorpathographic analysis system were applied to observe thecontent change of hepatic TGF-β1, type Ⅰ and type Ⅲcollagen in schistosomiasis japonica mice with liver fibrosisbefore and after PTX treatment.RESULTS: Effects of PTX on the content change of hepaticTGF-β1, type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ collagen in schistosomiasis japonicamice with liver fibrosis were related to the dosage of PTX,high dose PTX treated group could significantly reduce thecontent of TGF-β1 (0.709±0.111), type Ⅰ (0.644±0.108) andtype Ⅲ (0.654±0.152) collagen compared with those ofcontrol group (0.883±0.140, 0.771±0.156, 0.822±0.129)with statistical significance (P＜0.05). Low dose PTX couldalso reduce the hepatic content of TGF-β1 (0.752±0.152),type Ⅰ (0.733±0.117) and type Ⅲ (0.788±0.147) collagen,but without statistical significance (P＞0.05). Both high doseand low dose PTX groups have significant differences onthe content of TGF-β1, type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ collagen (P＜0.05,P＜0.05, P＜ 0.01,respectively).CONCLUSION: High dose of PTX treatment could reducethe content of hepatic TGF-β1, type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ collagensignificantly in schistosomiasis japonica mice with liverfibrosis, and thus plays its role of antifibrosis.