title: Inhibition of Sophocarpine on Poly I: C/D-GalN-Induced Immunological Liver Injury in Mice.
abstract: Increasing evidence has suggested that natural killer (NK) cells contribute to the pathogenesis of human immunological liver injury (ILI). Previous studies have demonstrated that Sophocarpine exerts activity in immune modulation. It also has a therapeutic effect on liver protection in that it can alleviate liver fibrosis by suppressing both the activation of hepatic stellate cells and the proliferation of the activated hepatic stellate cells. However, whether Sophocarpine protects the liver by regulating NK cell activity remains unclear. In this study, the modulating effect of Sophocarpine on NK cells in the liver was investigated. The results showed that Sophocarpine dramatically decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and attenuated the liver injury induced by Poly I: C/D-GalN in C57BL/6- mice. More importantly, Sophocarpine pre-treatment significantly suppressed NK cell activation and downregulated the expression of NKG2D, a receptor responsible for NK cell activation. Moreover, the protein levels of DAP12, ZAP76 and Syk decreased, as did their corresponding mRNA levels. Overall, our study demonstrates that Sophocarpine inhibits NK cell activity, thus making it a promising therapy for ILI.
authors: Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChengdu, China; Department of Pharmacy, 302 Military Hospital of ChinaBeijing, China.
authors: Yin-Qiu
authors: YQ
authors: Huang
authors: China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital of China Beijing, China.
authors: Peng-Yan
authors: PY
authors: Li
authors: China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital of China Beijing, China.
authors: Jia-Bo
authors: JB
authors: Wang
authors: Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChengdu, China; Department of Pharmacy, 302 Military Hospital of ChinaBeijing, China.
authors: Hou-Qin
authors: HQ
authors: Zhou
authors: Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChengdu, China; Department of Pharmacy, 302 Military Hospital of ChinaBeijing, China.
authors: Zhi-Rui
authors: ZR
authors: Yang
authors: Research Center for Clinical and Translational Medicine, 302 Hospital of People's Liberation Army Beijing, China.
authors: Rui-Chuang
authors: RC
authors: Yang
authors: China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital of China Beijing, China.
authors: Zhao-Fang
authors: ZF
authors: Bai
authors: Department of Integrative Medical Center, 302 Hospital of People's Liberation Army Beijing, China.
authors: Li-Fu
authors: LF
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Integrative Medical Center, 302 Hospital of People's Liberation Army Beijing, China.
authors: Jian-Yu
authors: JY
authors: Li
authors: Department of Integrative Medical Center, 302 Hospital of People's Liberation Army Beijing, China.
authors: Hong-Hong
authors: HH
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Pharmacy, 302 Military Hospital of China Beijing, China.
authors: Yan-Ling
authors: YL
authors: Zhao
authors: China Military Institute of Chinese Medicine, 302 Military Hospital of China Beijing, China.
authors: Xiao-He
authors: XH
authors: Xiao
keywords: NK cell activity; NKG2D-DAP12; Poly I: C/D-GalN; Sophocarpine; immunological liver injury