title: Diosgenin attenuates hepatic stellate cell activation through transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling pathway.
abstract: Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) plays a pivotal role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is considered to be the main stimuli factor responsible for the activation of HSC. Diosgenin is a steroidal saponin found in several plants including Solanum and Dioscorea species, and it inhibited high glucose-induced renal tubular fibrosis. However, the effects of diosgenin against hepatic fibrosis remain elusive. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of diosgenin on TGF-β1-induced HSCs and elucidate the possible mechanism of its anti-fibrotic effect. Our results demonstrated that diosgenin inhibited TGF-β1-induced HSC proliferation, reduced the expression of collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), as well as the expression of TGF-β receptor I (TGF-β RI) and II. Moreover, diosgenin suppressed TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad3 in HSCs. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that diosgenin inhibited HSC-T6 cell proliferation and activation, at least in part, via the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. These results provide that diosgenin may have potential to treat liver fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University 168 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Lin
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital 32 Yihuan Road, Chengdu 610072, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, College of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Lu
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, College of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yu
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University 168 Changhai Road, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Deng
keywords: Diosgenin; hepatic stellate cells (HSC); transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)