title: Bee's honey attenuates non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-induced hepatic injury through the regulation of thioredoxin-interacting protein-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aim to examine whether honey ameliorates hepatic injury in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) animal and cell line steatosis models.
  
  
  METHODS
  NASH was induced in female Sprague-Dawley rat by 8-week feeding with a high-fat diet. During the experiment, 5 g/kg honey was intragastrically fed daily. Rat normal hepatocyte BRL-3A cell was treated with sodium palmitate (SP) to induce steatosis in the absence or presence of honey pre-treatment or specific siRNA/overexpress plasmid of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) or antagonist/agonist of Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Honey significantly improved the high-fat-diet-induced hepatic injury, steatosis, fibrosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in rats. Honey also inhibited the overexpression of TXNIP and the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. These effects were replicated in BRL-3A cell line which showed that the down-regulation of TXNIP or inhibition of NLRP3 contributed to the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation, inflammation, and re-balanced lipid metabolism. In contrast, overexpression of TXNIP or agonism of NLRP3 exacerbated the cellular damage induced by SP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suppression of the TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway may partly contribute to the amelioration of hepatic injury during the progression of NASH by honey. Targeting hepatic TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway is a potential therapeutic way for the prevention and treatment of NASH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunobiology, Institute of Tissue Transplantation and Immunology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.|National Key Disciplines for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.|Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: National Key Disciplines for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Yingxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunobiology, Institute of Tissue Transplantation and Immunology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Feiyue
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Tung Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Liong
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Heart, Brain, Hormone and Healthy Aging, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. tgeorge@hkucc.hku.hk.|Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. tgeorge@hkucc.hku.hk.
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Tipoe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006722:Honey; D058847:Inflammasomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000178:diet therapy; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D019308:Palmitic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D058847:Inflammasomes; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; C573346:Nlrp3 protein, rat; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C493796:TXNIP protein, rat; D019308:Palmitic Acid
keywords: Honey; Inflammation; NASH; NLRP3 inflammasome; TXNIP