Silymarin Accelerates Liver Regeneration after Partial Hepatectomy.
Partial hepatectomy (PHx) is a liver regeneration physiological response induced to maintain homeostasis. Liver regeneration evolved presumably to protect wild animals from catastrophic liver loss caused by toxins or tissue injury. Silymarin (Sm) ability to stimulate liver regeneration has been an object of curiosity for many years. Silymarin has been investigated for use as an antioxidant and anticarcinogen. However, its use as a supportive treatment for liver damage is elusive. In this study, we fed silymarin (Sm, 25 mg/kg) to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 7 weeks. Surgical 2/3 PHx was then conducted on the rats at 6 hrs, 24 hrs, and 72 hrs. Western blot and RT-PCR were conducted to detect the cell cycle activities and silymarin effects on hepatic regeneration. The results showed that silymarin enhanced liver regeneration by accelerating the cell cycle in PHx liver. Silymarin led to increased G1 phase (cyclin D1/pRb), S phase (cyclin E/E2F), G2 phase (cyclin B), and M phase (cyclin A) protein and mRNA at 6 hrs, 24 hrs, and 72 hrs PHx. HGF, TGFα, and TGFβ1 growth factor expressions were also enhanced. We suggest that silymarin plays a crucial role in accelerated liver regeneration after PHx.
Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
Jia-Ping
JP
Wu
School of Chinese Medicine for Post-Baccalaureate, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 84001, Taiwan ; Chinese Medicine Department, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung 82445, Taiwan.
Chin-Chuan
CC
Tsai
Department of Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 50006, Taiwan ; Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli 35664, Taiwan.
Yu-Lan
YL
Yeh
Department of Pathology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua 50006, Taiwan ; Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli 35664, Taiwan.
Yueh-Min
YM
Lin
Orthopaedic Department, Armed Forces General Hospital, Taichung 32551, Taiwan.
Chien-Chung
CC
Lin
Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung 91202, Taiwan.
Cecilia Hsuan
CH
Day
Department of Nursing, Meiho University, Pingtung 91202, Taiwan.
Chia-Yao
CY
Shen
Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, India.
V Vijaya
VV
Padma
Cardiology Department of Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taichung 32551, Taiwan.
Lung-Fa
LF
Pan
Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Graduate Institute of Chinese Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan ; Department of Health and Nutrition Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan.
Chih-Yang
CY
Huang