Synergistic effects of Linggui zhugan decoction regulating autophagy on doxorubicin against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To explore the enhancement effect of Linggui zhugan decoction （LGZG） regulating autophagy on doxorubicin （DOX） against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-hepatocellular carcinoma （NAFLD-HCC）. METHODS C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into blank group， NAFLD-HCC group， LGZG group， DOX group and DOX+LGZG group， with 10 mice in each group. The NAFLD-HCC model was established by intraperitoneal injection of diethylnitrosamine （50 mg/kg） and high-fat diet. The blank group was injected with the same amount of normal saline and fed with ordinary diet. After modeling， administration groups were given LGZG aqueous extract （20 g/kg） intragastrically and/or DOX solution intraperitoneally （8 mg/kg）； the blank group and NAFLD-HCC group were given a constant volume of normal saline intragastrically， once a day， for 4 consecutive weeks. The general condition of mice （No.2022-BS-197） was monitored during modeling and drug intervention. After drug intervention， body weight， liver weight and liver coefficient of mice were detected. The histopathologic morphology and fibrosis degree of liver tissue in mice were observed； the levels of blood lipid [the levels of triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）]， the serum contents of alpha fetoprotein （AFP） and carcinoembryonic antigen （CEA）， and the expressions of marker of proliferation Ki-67， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2） and Bcl-2 associated X （Bax） in liver tissue were all detected as well as protein expressions of microtubule-associated proteins 1A and 1B （LC3）， Beclin1 and selective autophagy adopt proteins P62. RESULTS Compared with the blank group， the activity of mice decreased gradually as time in the NAFLD-HCC group； mental fatigue， disheveled and matte hair were observed， and body weight decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； liver weight had an upward trend， and liver coefficient increased significantly （P＜0.05）. The inflammatory cells of liver tissue were infiltrated， with some cells showing ballooning and small cell hyperplasia， and the degree of liver fibrosis was worsened； serum levels of TC， TG and LDL-C， AFP and CEA contents increased significantly， while HDL-C level decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. The protein expressions of Ki-67 and Bcl-2 in liver tissue were increased significantly （P＜0.05）， while the protein expression of Bax decreased. The protein expression of Beclin1 in liver tissue decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； LC3Ⅱ/ LC3Ⅰ decreased， while the expression of P62 protein increased. Compared with the NAFLD-HCC group， the above indexes of mice were improved to different extents in the DOX group， LGZG group and DOX+LGZG group， and the intervention effect of DOX combined with LGZG were better than those of DOX. CONCLUSIONS LGZG combined with DOX can synergically promote the apoptosis of tumor cells， enhance the sensitivity of NAFLD-HCC chemotherapy， and effectively slow down the occurrence and development of NAFLD-HCC. The mechanism may be related to the regulation of autophagy in tumor cells.