Protective Effect of Astaxanthin on Liver Fibrosis through Modulation of TGF-1 Expression and Autophagy
Figure 4
Effects of astaxanthin on expression of TGF-1, MMP2, TIMP1, and NF-b. (a) The analysis of western blotting showed that astaxanthin decreased the expression of TGF-1, TIMP1, and NF-b and, contrarily, increased the expression of MMP2 compared to CCL4 group. (b) The mRNA level of TGF-1 was decreased by astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg), and the mRNA levels of TIMP1 and NF-b were decreased with the dose of 80 mg/kg. However, the mRNA levels of MMP2 were increased by astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) compared to CCL4 group. Data are expressed as mean SD (, for CCL4 + AST(40) versus CCL4, for CCL4 + AST(80) versus CCL4). (c) The area of positive cells of TGF-1 was significantly decreased by astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) stained by immunohistochemistry (original magnification: ). The expression of NF-B in nuclei decreased obviously with astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) treatment (original magnification: ). (d) The IODs of TGF-1 and NF-b were analyzed by Image-pro Plus 6.0. There existed a significant decrease with astaxanthin (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) treatment (, for CCL4 + AST(40) versus CCL4, for CCL4 + AST(80) versus CCL4).
