Andrographolide ameliorates d-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced acute liver injury by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway

// Chen-wei Pan 1, * , Shou-xing Yang 2, * , Zhen-zhen Pan 3, * , Bo Zheng 2 , Jian-zhang Wang 2 , Guang-rong Lu 2 , Zhan-xiong Xue 2 and Chang-long Xu 2 1 Department of Infectious Disease, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China 2 Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China 3 Department of Infectious Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325027, China * Chen-wei Pan, Shou-xing Yang and Zhen-zhen Pan are co-first authors Correspondence to: Zhan-xiong Xue, email: xuezhanxiong@126.com Chang-long Xu, email: xchlong@163.com Keywords: andrographolide, LPS, D-GalN, Nrf2, NF-κB Received: February 28, 2017 Accepted: March 28, 2017 Published: April 17, 2017 ABSTRACT Andrographolide (ADH), a diterpenoid lactone extracted from Andrographis paniculata , has been found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. However, its protective effects and mechanisms on liver injury have not been investigated clearly. This study takes an attempt to reveal the protective effects and mechanism of ADH on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced acute liver injury in mice. The mice liver injury model was induced by LPS (60 mg/kg) and D-GalN (800 mg/kg), and ADH was given 1 h after LPS and D-GalN treatment. Hepatic tissue histology was measured by H&E staining. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were detected by detection kits. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were detected by ELISA. Moreover, malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents were also detected. Meanwhile, the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, and NF-κB were detected by western blot analysis. The results showed that ADH treatment improved liver histology and decreased the levels of ALT, AST, MPO, IL-1β, TNF-α, as well as MDA and ROS levels of hepatic tissues in a dose-dependent manner. ADH also inhibited LPS/D-GalN-induced NF-κB activation. The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 were increased by treatment of ADH. In conclusion, ADH protected against LPS/D-GalN-induced liver injury by inhibiting NF-κB and activating Nrf2 signaling pathway.