Protective effect of Hemerocallis citrina baroni flavonids on autoimmune liver injury and its mechanism in mice

Objective To study protective effect of Hemerocallis citrina baroni flavonids (HCBF) on autoimmune liver injury and the influence of HCBF on expressions of BCL-2-associated X protein (bax) and B cell lymyhoma/leukemia-2 protein (bcl-2) in mice.Methods The diabetic nephropathy (DN) mice model was established by injections of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Sixty male Kunming mice were randomly divided into five groups:a control group,a DN model gourp,and low,moderate,and high treatment groups with HCBF of 15,30,60 mg/kg,respectively.Liver pathological changes were observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining.The contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD),malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured with colorimetry.Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was detected with biochemistry analyzer.The expressions of bax and bcl-2 were determined with immunohistochemistry.Results Compared to those of the controls,serum ALT (105.48±46.34 U/L) and MDA (8.57±0.54 nmol/mgprot) increased but SOD (168.14±13.21 U/mgprot) and GST-Px (95.32±1.48 U/mgprot) decreased in the mice of model group significantly (P<0.01 for all).Compared to those of the mice of the model group,serum ALT (56.38±26.31 and 59.77±13.34 U/L) and MDA (5.37±0.34 and 5.52±0.38 nmol/mgprot) decreased but SOD (197.40±25.22 and 249.41±24.08 nmol/mgprot) and GST-Px (107.32±1.83 and 114.24±1.41 U/mgprot) increased significantly for the mice of 30 and 60 mg/kg HCBF treatment groups (P<0.05 for all).Compared to the mice in the control,the expression of bax was up-regulated but the expression of bcl-2 was down-regulated for the mice in the model group (both P<0.05).Compared to the mice in the model group,the expression of bax was down-regulated but the expression of bcl-2 was up-regulated for the mice in the HCBF treatment groups (P<0.05 for all).Conclusion HCBF exhibits protective effect on autoimmune liver injury in mice and the effect may relate to the enhancement of antioxidant capacity,downregulation of bax and upregulation of bcl-2 in the mice.