Study on effects of extracts from Salvia Miltiorrhiza and Curcuma Longa in inhibiting phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase expression in rat's hepatic stellate cells / 中国结合医学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of salvianolic acid B (SAB) and curcumin, the extracts of Salvia Miltiorrhiza and Curcuma Longa, on the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cell (HSC), and the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) expression in it.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat's HSC-T6 were cultured and treated by SAB or curcumin. The inhibitory effect on cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimthyl-2-2thiazoly)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetry, and the expression levels of alpha smooth actin (alpha-SMA), collagen type I, and ERK were determined by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>SAB and curcumin inhibited the proliferation and activation of rat's HSC-T6 in dose-dependent fashion and significantly reduced the expression level of alpha-SMA (P < 0.01). Curcumin significantly reduced the expression of collagen type I (P < 0.05). Both SAB and curcumin showed insignificant effect on the ERK expression level, but they could significantly reduce the level of phosphorylated-ERK expression, showing significant difference as compared with that in the control group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SAB and curcumin could significantly inhibit the proliferation, activation of HSC, and the production of type I collagen in HSC, the mechanism may be associated with their inhibition on ERK phosphorylation.</p>