Mus musculus Transcriptome or Gene expression
This study is based on prior clinical observations indicating that the patented traditional Chinese medicine compound QRF developed by our research group can alleviate symptoms in patients with liver fibrosis (particularly stage 3) and regulate levels of the key pyroptosis protein GSDMD in peripheral blood. Preliminary animal experiments confirmed that QRF (especially at high doses) significantly improves pathological manifestations of liver fibrosis in rats, suggesting its effect may be associated with modulating the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. To further elucidate the specific molecular mechanism by which QRF may ameliorate liver fibrosis through regulating NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis and macrophage polarization, we established a CCl4-induced liver fibrosis (stage 3) mouse model and administered a six-week QRF intervention. Pathological evaluation confirmed significant improvement in liver fibrosis in the QRF intervention group compared to the model group. To clarify the underlying mechanisms, we performed transcriptomic analysis on liver tissues from the blank control, model, and QRF intervention groups. This research aims to systematically elucidate the targets and pathways involved in QRF's anti-fibrotic effects, providing important experimental evidence and data support for the mechanistic research and clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine compounds in treating liver fibrosis.