To investigate the effects of icariin （ICA） on angiotensin Ⅱ（Ang Ⅱ）-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells line （ECV-304）. The ECV-304 cells were cultured in vitro. After 24 h incubating with...To investigate the effects of icariin （ICA） on angiotensin Ⅱ（Ang Ⅱ）-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells line （ECV-304）. The ECV-304 cells were cultured in vitro. After 24 h incubating with icariin, the model of AngⅡ-induced injury in ECV-304 was established. The cell viability （MTT method）, Lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） release and Nitric oxide （NO） production in the medium, the capacity of scavenging superoxide anion radicals （O2^-） and hydroxyl radicals （.OH） were measured. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, total nitric oxide synthase （T-NOS）, inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS） and constitutive nitric oxide synthase （cNOS） in the cells were determined. Compared with the Ang Ⅱ-treated group, ICA can significantly raise the viability of EC, increase the activities of SOD, T-NOS and cNOS, increase the production of NO, enhance the capacity of scavenging superoxide anion radicals （ O2^- ） and hydroxyl radicals（.OH）, and lower LDH leakage and iNOS activity. The results suggest that ICA can protect endothelial cells （ECV-304） from Ang II-induced injury.展开更多
The changes of proto-oncogene c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）-induced hypertrophy and effects of sodium tanshinone ⅡA sulfonate （STS） in the primary culture of neonatal rat cardiomyocyte...The changes of proto-oncogene c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）-induced hypertrophy and effects of sodium tanshinone ⅡA sulfonate （STS） in the primary culture of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were investigated. Twelve neonatal clean grade Wistar rats were selected. The cardiomyocytes were isolated, cultured and divided according to different treatments in the medium. The cardiomyocyte size was determined by phase contrast microscope, and the rate of protein synthesis was measured by [3H]-Leucine incorporation. The c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in cardiomyocytes was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. It was found after cardiomyocytes were treated with AngⅡ for 30 min, the c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in cardiomyocytes was increased significantly （P〈0.01）. After treatment with AngⅡ for 24 h, the rate of protein synthesis in AngⅡ group was significantly increased as compared with control group （P〈0.01）. After treatment with AngⅡ for 7 days, the size of cardiomyocytes in AngⅡ group was increased obviously as compared with control group （P〈0.05）. After pretreatment with STS or Valsartan before AngⅡ treatment, both of them could inhibit the above effects of AngⅡ （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. It was suggested that STS could ameliorate AngⅡ-induced cardiomyocyte hy- pertrophy by inhibiting c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression and reducing protein synthesis rate of cardiomyocytes.展开更多
To explore the relation of angiotensin-converting enzyme （ACE） and angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor （AT1R） gene polymorphism with coronary heart disease （CHD） and the severity of coronary artery stenosis, 130 CHD ...To explore the relation of angiotensin-converting enzyme （ACE） and angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor （AT1R） gene polymorphism with coronary heart disease （CHD） and the severity of coronary artery stenosis, 130 CHD patients who underwent coronary angiography were examined for the number of affected coronary vessels （≥75% stenosis） and coronary Jeopardy score. The insertion/deletion of ACE gene polymorphism and AT1R gene polymorphism （an A→C transversion at nucleotide position 1166） were detected by using polymerase chain reaction （PCR） and restriction fragment length polymorphism （RFLP） in CHD patients and 90 healthy serving as controls. The resuits showed that DD genotype and of ACE were more frequent in CHD patients than that in control group （38.5% vs 14.4%, P〈0.001）. The frequency of the ATIR A/C genotypes did not differ between the patients and the controls （10% vs 13.1%, P〉0.05）. The relative risk associated with the ACE-DD was increased by AT1R-AC genotype. Neither the number of affected coronary vessels nor the coronary score differed among the ACE I/D genotypes （P〉0.05）. But the number of affected coronary vessels and the coronary score were significantly greater in the patients with the AT1R-AC genotype than in those with the AA genotype （P〈0.05）. In conclusion, DD genotype may be risk factor for CHD and MI in Chinese people, and is not responsible for the development of the coronary artery stenosis. The AT1R-C allele may increase the relative risk associated with the ACE-DD genotype, and may be involved in the development of the stenosis of coronary artery.展开更多
AIM： To measure circulating angiotensins at different stages of human cirrhosis and to further evaluate a possible relationship between renin angiotensin system （RAS） components and hemodynamic changes. METHODS： P...AIM： To measure circulating angiotensins at different stages of human cirrhosis and to further evaluate a possible relationship between renin angiotensin system （RAS） components and hemodynamic changes. METHODS： Patients were allocated into 4 groups： mild-to-moderate liver disease （MLD）, advanced liver disease （ALD）, patients undergoing liver transplantation, and healthy controls. Blood was collected to determine plasma renin activity （PRA）, angiotensin （Ang） Ⅰ, Ang Ⅱ, and Ang-（1-7） levels using radioimmunoassays. During liver transplantation, hemodynamic parameters were determined and blood was simultaneously obtained from the portal vein and radial artery in order to measure RAS components. RESULTS： PRA and angiotensins were elevated in ALD when compared to MLD and controls （P 〈 0.05）. In contrast, Ang Ⅱ was significantly reduced in MLD. Ang-（1-7）/Ang Ⅱ ratios were increased in MLD when compared to controls and ALD. During transplantation, Ang Ⅱ levels were lower and Ang-（1-7）/Ang Ⅱ ratios were higher in the splanchnic circulation than in the peripheral circulation （0.52 ± 0.08 vs 0.38 ±0.04, P 〈 0.02）, whereas the peripheral circulating Ang Ⅱ/Ang Ⅰ ratio was elevated in comparison to splanchnic levels （0.18 ±0.02 vs 0.13 ±0.02, P 〈 0.04）. Ang-（1-7）/ Ang Ⅱ ratios positively correlated with cardiac output （r = 0.66） and negatively correlated with systemic vascular resistance （r = -0.70）. CONCLUSION： Our findings suggest that the relationship between Ang-（1-7） and Ang Ⅱ may play a role in the hemodynamic changes of human cirrhosis.展开更多
The expression vector of shRNA targeted to the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor gene was constructed and the efficacy of siRNAs to modulate the expression of target gene in the in vitro cultured mammalian cells was investi...The expression vector of shRNA targeted to the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor gene was constructed and the efficacy of siRNAs to modulate the expression of target gene in the in vitro cultured mammalian cells was investigated for antihypertensive therapy in spontaneous hypertensive rat （SHR） at post-transcriptional level. The sense and antisense RNA oligonucleotides strands targeting angiotensin Ⅱ receptor mRNA were synthesized individually according to the sequence of the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor. For preparation of duplexes, sense- and antisense-stranded oligonucleotides were mixed and annealed, and the annealed duplexes were cloned into the pGenesil-1 vector. The rat glioma cells were transfected with constructed pGenesil-1-shRNA plasmid and scrambled plasmid. The cultured cells were collected at different phases. RT-PCR and Western blot were performed. The AT1 mRNA and protein levels behaved ultimately same. Compared to control after 48 h, AT1 mRNA levels were decreased to 35.5%±3.0 %, and the levels reached their lowest point after 72 h （20.7% ±4 % of control）. At 24 and 48 h, AT1 protein was reduced to 46.9%±4.2% and 36.98%±3.7% respectively compared to control and a maximum reduction was observed after 72 h of incubation （28.1%± 4% compared to controls）. Plasmid-based shRNA expression systems targeted against the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor gene were generated successfully. The shRNAs with a 22-nt stem and a short loop were cleaved into small interfering dsRNA （siRNA） by the Dicer. The in vitro transcribed siRNA enables the effective silencing of gene expression to the target mRNA and leads to effective inhibition of translation of proteins and will be lay the foundation of application of gene silencing technology to hypertensive rats.展开更多
The expression of angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R) and angiotensin Ⅱ type 2 receptor (AT2R) in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) of the adrenal gland was detected, and their relationship with clinical indexes ...The expression of angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R) and angiotensin Ⅱ type 2 receptor (AT2R) in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) of the adrenal gland was detected, and their relationship with clinical indexes of APA was analyzed. The mRNA expression of AT1R and AT2R in 50 cases of APA and tissues adjacent to tumors and 12 cases of normal adrenal tissues was detected by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of AT1R and AT2R proteins in paraffin-embedded slices of tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. The expression of AT1R in adenoma, tissues adjacent to tumor, and normal tissues of the adrenal gland showed no significant differences. The expression of AT2R in APA tissue was lower than that in normal adrenal gland tissues (P<0.05). Correlation analysis of the mRNA expression level of AT2R and clinical data from patients demonstrated that AT2R expression was negatively related to plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) (r=-0.467, P<0.05), but positively related with plasma renin activity (PRA) (r=0.604, P<0.05). It is concluded that down-regulation of the AT2R expression is possibly related with the tumorigenesis of APA.展开更多
Angiotensin Ⅱ (ANGⅡ) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by inducing proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).In our study,we observed the effects of valsartan on proliferatio...Angiotensin Ⅱ (ANGⅡ) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by inducing proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).In our study,we observed the effects of valsartan on proliferation of cultured VSMCs treated with or without ANGⅡ by cell counting and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay,and detected the expression of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2),a newly discovered cell proliferation inhibitor and a related cell proliferation signaling pathway pro-tein by Western blotting.ANGⅡ at a concentration of 10-6 mol/L significantly stimulated VSMCs proliferation,down-regulated the expression of Mfn2 and upregulated the expression of Raf and ERK1/2.Valsartan inhibited such effects of ANGⅡ at concentrations of 10-5 and 10-6 mol/L,but not at 10-7 mol/L.Valsartan had no significant effect on the proliferation of untreated VSMCs.These results suggest that valsartan inhibits ANGⅡ-induced proliferation of VSMCs in vitro via Mfn2-Ras-Raf-ERK/MAPK signaling pathway.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the roles of nuclear factor(NF)-κB and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor type 1(AT1R) in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).METHODS: Forty-two healthy adult male SpragueDawley rats...AIM: To investigate the roles of nuclear factor(NF)-κB and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor type 1(AT1R) in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).METHODS: Forty-two healthy adult male SpragueDawley rats were randomly divided into three groups:the control group(normal diet), the model group,and the intervention group(10 wk of a high-fat diet feeding, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of PDTC); 6 rats in each group were sacrificed at 6, 10,and 14 wk. After sacrifice, liver tissue was taken,paraffin sections of liver tissue specimens were prepared, hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining was performed, and pathological changes in liver tissue(i.e., liver fibrosis) were observed by light microscopy.NF-κB expression in liver tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of AT1 R in the liver tissue was detected by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The data are expressed as mean ± SD. A two-sample t test was used to compare the control group and the model group at different time points, paired t tests were used to compare the differences between the intervention group and the model group, and analysis of variance was used to compare the model group with the control group. Homogeneity of variance was analyzed with single factor analysis of variance. H variance analysis was used to compare the variance. P < 0.05 wasconsidered statistically significant.RESULTS: The NAFLD model was successful after 6wk and 10 wk. Liver fibrosis was found in four rats in the model group, but in only one rat in the intervention group at 14 wk. Liver steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis were gradually increased throughout the model. In the intervention group, the body mass,rat liver index, serum lipid, and transaminase levels were not increased compared to the model group.In the model group, the degree of liver steatosis was increased at 6, 10, and 14 wk, and was significantly higher than in the control group(P < 0.01). In the model group, different degrees of liver cell necrosis were visible and small leaves, punctated inflammation,focal necrosis, and obvious ballooning degeneration were observed. Partial necrosis and confluent necrosis were observed. In the model group, liver inflammatory activity scores at 6, 10, and 14 wk were higher than in the control group(P < 0.01). Active inflammation in liver tissue in the intervention group was lower than in the model group(P < 0.05). HE staining showed liver fibrosis only at 14 wk in 4/6 rats in the model group and in 1/6 rats in the intervention group. NF-κB positive cells were stained yellow or ensemble yellow,and NF-κB was localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus. The model group showed NF-κB activation at6, 10, and 14 wk in liver cells; at the same time points,there were statistically significant differences in the control group(P < 0.01). Over time, NF-κB expression increased; this was statistically lower(P < 0.05) at14 weeks in the intervention group compared to the model group, but significantly increased(P < 0.05)compared with the control group; RT-PCR showed that AT1 R mRNA expression increased gradually in the model group; at 14 wk, the expression was significantly different compared with expression at 10 weeks as well as at 6 weeks(P < 0.05). In the model group, AT1 R mRNA expression was significantly higher than at the same time point in the control group(P <0.01).CONCLUSION: With increasing severity of NAFLD,NF-κB activity is enhanced, and the inhibition of NF-κB activity may reduce AT1 R mRNA expression in NAFLD.展开更多
基金National "Ninth five-year" Key Technology R&D Programme of China (Grant No.99-929-01-31)
文摘To investigate the effects of icariin （ICA） on angiotensin Ⅱ（Ang Ⅱ）-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells line （ECV-304）. The ECV-304 cells were cultured in vitro. After 24 h incubating with icariin, the model of AngⅡ-induced injury in ECV-304 was established. The cell viability （MTT method）, Lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） release and Nitric oxide （NO） production in the medium, the capacity of scavenging superoxide anion radicals （O2^-） and hydroxyl radicals （.OH） were measured. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, total nitric oxide synthase （T-NOS）, inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS） and constitutive nitric oxide synthase （cNOS） in the cells were determined. Compared with the Ang Ⅱ-treated group, ICA can significantly raise the viability of EC, increase the activities of SOD, T-NOS and cNOS, increase the production of NO, enhance the capacity of scavenging superoxide anion radicals （ O2^- ） and hydroxyl radicals（.OH）, and lower LDH leakage and iNOS activity. The results suggest that ICA can protect endothelial cells （ECV-304） from Ang II-induced injury.
基金a grant from National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 30500657)
文摘The changes of proto-oncogene c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）-induced hypertrophy and effects of sodium tanshinone ⅡA sulfonate （STS） in the primary culture of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were investigated. Twelve neonatal clean grade Wistar rats were selected. The cardiomyocytes were isolated, cultured and divided according to different treatments in the medium. The cardiomyocyte size was determined by phase contrast microscope, and the rate of protein synthesis was measured by [3H]-Leucine incorporation. The c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in cardiomyocytes was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. It was found after cardiomyocytes were treated with AngⅡ for 30 min, the c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in cardiomyocytes was increased significantly （P〈0.01）. After treatment with AngⅡ for 24 h, the rate of protein synthesis in AngⅡ group was significantly increased as compared with control group （P〈0.01）. After treatment with AngⅡ for 7 days, the size of cardiomyocytes in AngⅡ group was increased obviously as compared with control group （P〈0.05）. After pretreatment with STS or Valsartan before AngⅡ treatment, both of them could inhibit the above effects of AngⅡ （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. It was suggested that STS could ameliorate AngⅡ-induced cardiomyocyte hy- pertrophy by inhibiting c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression and reducing protein synthesis rate of cardiomyocytes.
文摘To explore the relation of angiotensin-converting enzyme （ACE） and angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor （AT1R） gene polymorphism with coronary heart disease （CHD） and the severity of coronary artery stenosis, 130 CHD patients who underwent coronary angiography were examined for the number of affected coronary vessels （≥75% stenosis） and coronary Jeopardy score. The insertion/deletion of ACE gene polymorphism and AT1R gene polymorphism （an A→C transversion at nucleotide position 1166） were detected by using polymerase chain reaction （PCR） and restriction fragment length polymorphism （RFLP） in CHD patients and 90 healthy serving as controls. The resuits showed that DD genotype and of ACE were more frequent in CHD patients than that in control group （38.5% vs 14.4%, P〈0.001）. The frequency of the ATIR A/C genotypes did not differ between the patients and the controls （10% vs 13.1%, P〉0.05）. The relative risk associated with the ACE-DD was increased by AT1R-AC genotype. Neither the number of affected coronary vessels nor the coronary score differed among the ACE I/D genotypes （P〉0.05）. But the number of affected coronary vessels and the coronary score were significantly greater in the patients with the AT1R-AC genotype than in those with the AA genotype （P〈0.05）. In conclusion, DD genotype may be risk factor for CHD and MI in Chinese people, and is not responsible for the development of the coronary artery stenosis. The AT1R-C allele may increase the relative risk associated with the ACE-DD genotype, and may be involved in the development of the stenosis of coronary artery.
基金Supported by Fundacode Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, FAPEMIG/CNPQ-PRONEX (Grupos de Excelência),Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia/CNPq/ FAPEMIG-INCT-Nano-Biofar
文摘AIM： To measure circulating angiotensins at different stages of human cirrhosis and to further evaluate a possible relationship between renin angiotensin system （RAS） components and hemodynamic changes. METHODS： Patients were allocated into 4 groups： mild-to-moderate liver disease （MLD）, advanced liver disease （ALD）, patients undergoing liver transplantation, and healthy controls. Blood was collected to determine plasma renin activity （PRA）, angiotensin （Ang） Ⅰ, Ang Ⅱ, and Ang-（1-7） levels using radioimmunoassays. During liver transplantation, hemodynamic parameters were determined and blood was simultaneously obtained from the portal vein and radial artery in order to measure RAS components. RESULTS： PRA and angiotensins were elevated in ALD when compared to MLD and controls （P 〈 0.05）. In contrast, Ang Ⅱ was significantly reduced in MLD. Ang-（1-7）/Ang Ⅱ ratios were increased in MLD when compared to controls and ALD. During transplantation, Ang Ⅱ levels were lower and Ang-（1-7）/Ang Ⅱ ratios were higher in the splanchnic circulation than in the peripheral circulation （0.52 ± 0.08 vs 0.38 ±0.04, P 〈 0.02）, whereas the peripheral circulating Ang Ⅱ/Ang Ⅰ ratio was elevated in comparison to splanchnic levels （0.18 ±0.02 vs 0.13 ±0.02, P 〈 0.04）. Ang-（1-7）/ Ang Ⅱ ratios positively correlated with cardiac output （r = 0.66） and negatively correlated with systemic vascular resistance （r = -0.70）. CONCLUSION： Our findings suggest that the relationship between Ang-（1-7） and Ang Ⅱ may play a role in the hemodynamic changes of human cirrhosis.
文摘The expression vector of shRNA targeted to the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor gene was constructed and the efficacy of siRNAs to modulate the expression of target gene in the in vitro cultured mammalian cells was investigated for antihypertensive therapy in spontaneous hypertensive rat （SHR） at post-transcriptional level. The sense and antisense RNA oligonucleotides strands targeting angiotensin Ⅱ receptor mRNA were synthesized individually according to the sequence of the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor. For preparation of duplexes, sense- and antisense-stranded oligonucleotides were mixed and annealed, and the annealed duplexes were cloned into the pGenesil-1 vector. The rat glioma cells were transfected with constructed pGenesil-1-shRNA plasmid and scrambled plasmid. The cultured cells were collected at different phases. RT-PCR and Western blot were performed. The AT1 mRNA and protein levels behaved ultimately same. Compared to control after 48 h, AT1 mRNA levels were decreased to 35.5%±3.0 %, and the levels reached their lowest point after 72 h （20.7% ±4 % of control）. At 24 and 48 h, AT1 protein was reduced to 46.9%±4.2% and 36.98%±3.7% respectively compared to control and a maximum reduction was observed after 72 h of incubation （28.1%± 4% compared to controls）. Plasmid-based shRNA expression systems targeted against the rat angiotensin Ⅱ receptor gene were generated successfully. The shRNAs with a 22-nt stem and a short loop were cleaved into small interfering dsRNA （siRNA） by the Dicer. The in vitro transcribed siRNA enables the effective silencing of gene expression to the target mRNA and leads to effective inhibition of translation of proteins and will be lay the foundation of application of gene silencing technology to hypertensive rats.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Founds for Distinguished Young Scholar of China (No. 30725040)
文摘The expression of angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor (AT1R) and angiotensin Ⅱ type 2 receptor (AT2R) in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) of the adrenal gland was detected, and their relationship with clinical indexes of APA was analyzed. The mRNA expression of AT1R and AT2R in 50 cases of APA and tissues adjacent to tumors and 12 cases of normal adrenal tissues was detected by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of AT1R and AT2R proteins in paraffin-embedded slices of tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. The expression of AT1R in adenoma, tissues adjacent to tumor, and normal tissues of the adrenal gland showed no significant differences. The expression of AT2R in APA tissue was lower than that in normal adrenal gland tissues (P<0.05). Correlation analysis of the mRNA expression level of AT2R and clinical data from patients demonstrated that AT2R expression was negatively related to plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) (r=-0.467, P<0.05), but positively related with plasma renin activity (PRA) (r=0.604, P<0.05). It is concluded that down-regulation of the AT2R expression is possibly related with the tumorigenesis of APA.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30872714 and No.30971244)
文摘Angiotensin Ⅱ (ANGⅡ) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by inducing proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).In our study,we observed the effects of valsartan on proliferation of cultured VSMCs treated with or without ANGⅡ by cell counting and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay,and detected the expression of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2),a newly discovered cell proliferation inhibitor and a related cell proliferation signaling pathway pro-tein by Western blotting.ANGⅡ at a concentration of 10-6 mol/L significantly stimulated VSMCs proliferation,down-regulated the expression of Mfn2 and upregulated the expression of Raf and ERK1/2.Valsartan inhibited such effects of ANGⅡ at concentrations of 10-5 and 10-6 mol/L,but not at 10-7 mol/L.Valsartan had no significant effect on the proliferation of untreated VSMCs.These results suggest that valsartan inhibits ANGⅡ-induced proliferation of VSMCs in vitro via Mfn2-Ras-Raf-ERK/MAPK signaling pathway.
基金Supported by grants from the Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province,No.2011SZ0094
文摘AIM: To investigate the roles of nuclear factor(NF)-κB and angiotensin Ⅱ receptor type 1(AT1R) in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).METHODS: Forty-two healthy adult male SpragueDawley rats were randomly divided into three groups:the control group(normal diet), the model group,and the intervention group(10 wk of a high-fat diet feeding, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of PDTC); 6 rats in each group were sacrificed at 6, 10,and 14 wk. After sacrifice, liver tissue was taken,paraffin sections of liver tissue specimens were prepared, hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining was performed, and pathological changes in liver tissue(i.e., liver fibrosis) were observed by light microscopy.NF-κB expression in liver tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of AT1 R in the liver tissue was detected by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The data are expressed as mean ± SD. A two-sample t test was used to compare the control group and the model group at different time points, paired t tests were used to compare the differences between the intervention group and the model group, and analysis of variance was used to compare the model group with the control group. Homogeneity of variance was analyzed with single factor analysis of variance. H variance analysis was used to compare the variance. P < 0.05 wasconsidered statistically significant.RESULTS: The NAFLD model was successful after 6wk and 10 wk. Liver fibrosis was found in four rats in the model group, but in only one rat in the intervention group at 14 wk. Liver steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis were gradually increased throughout the model. In the intervention group, the body mass,rat liver index, serum lipid, and transaminase levels were not increased compared to the model group.In the model group, the degree of liver steatosis was increased at 6, 10, and 14 wk, and was significantly higher than in the control group(P < 0.01). In the model group, different degrees of liver cell necrosis were visible and small leaves, punctated inflammation,focal necrosis, and obvious ballooning degeneration were observed. Partial necrosis and confluent necrosis were observed. In the model group, liver inflammatory activity scores at 6, 10, and 14 wk were higher than in the control group(P < 0.01). Active inflammation in liver tissue in the intervention group was lower than in the model group(P < 0.05). HE staining showed liver fibrosis only at 14 wk in 4/6 rats in the model group and in 1/6 rats in the intervention group. NF-κB positive cells were stained yellow or ensemble yellow,and NF-κB was localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus. The model group showed NF-κB activation at6, 10, and 14 wk in liver cells; at the same time points,there were statistically significant differences in the control group(P < 0.01). Over time, NF-κB expression increased; this was statistically lower(P < 0.05) at14 weeks in the intervention group compared to the model group, but significantly increased(P < 0.05)compared with the control group; RT-PCR showed that AT1 R mRNA expression increased gradually in the model group; at 14 wk, the expression was significantly different compared with expression at 10 weeks as well as at 6 weeks(P < 0.05). In the model group, AT1 R mRNA expression was significantly higher than at the same time point in the control group(P <0.01).CONCLUSION: With increasing severity of NAFLD,NF-κB activity is enhanced, and the inhibition of NF-κB activity may reduce AT1 R mRNA expression in NAFLD.
