Glycyrrhetinic acid regulates impaired macrophage autophagic flux in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

作者：Yadong Fan, Wenjin Dong, Ying Wang, Shan Zhu, Rundong Chai, Zhe Xu, Xiaoyu Zhang, Yiqi Yan, Long Yang, Yuhong Bian · 发表于：Frontiers in Immunology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fimmu.2022.959495 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Pharmacological Effects of Natural Compounds、Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects、Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Macrophages are involved in hepatocyte steatosis and necroinflammation and play an important role in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Impaired autophagy function (decreased autophagy or blocked autophagic flow) leads to cell damage and death and promotes NAFLD progression. The experimental and clinical research of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) in the treatment of NAFLD has gradually attracted attention with clear pharmacological activities such as immune regulation, antiviral, antitumor, antioxidant, liver protection, and anti-inflammatory. However, the effects of GA on the STAT3-HIF-1α pathway and autophagy in macrophages are still unclear, and its mechanism of action in the treatment of NAFLD remains to be further elucidated. We constructed a NAFLD mouse model through a high-fat and high-sugar diet to investigate the therapeutic effects of GA. The results showed that GA reduced weight, improved the pathological changes and hepatic lipid deposition of liver, and abnormally elevated the levels of serum biochemical (AST, ALT, TG, T-CHO, LDL-C, and HDL-C) and inflammatory indexes (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, MCP-1, and TNF-α) in NAFLD mice. Further examination revealed that GA ameliorates excessive hepatic macrophage infiltration and hepatocyte apoptosis. The results of the cell experiments further elaborated that GA modulated the PA-induced macrophage STAT3-HIF-1α pathway and ameliorated impaired autophagic flux (blockade of autophagosome-lysosome fusion) and o...