Effect of aldosterone receptor antagonist on hepatic fibrosis of rats

    JIA Ai, CHANG Xinª²Ming, GONG Jun

    Xi¬ðan Jiaotong University: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital, Xi¬ðan 710061, China, Department of Gastroenterology, Second Hospital, Xi¬ðan 710004, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate the effect of aldosterone receptor antagonist on the synthesis of collagen and the activation of hepatic stellate cells in rats. METHODS: Ninety SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group (n=8) were fed normal food and injected with peanut oil, sc; liver fibrosis model group (n=42) were induced by 400 mL/L CCl4, 3 mL/kg peanut oil, sc, twice a week and fed maize powder combined with highª²fat and highª²protein diet; spironolactone preventing group (n=40) were given 100 mg/kg spironolactone, besides, the methods of making models were the same as those of the model group. Blood was taken from eyes and the levels of HA, LN, PC¢ó and CIV were examined. Liver tissues were stained with HE and VG. Tissue morphological change was examined with light microscopy. The degree of hepatic fibrosis was assessed by an image analyze system. Moreover, the expression of ¦Áª²SMA in hepatic tissue was detected with immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: The levels of HA, LN, PC¢ó and CIV in spironolactone group were greatly lower than those in model group (P<0.05). Histological observation indicated that the grade of fibrosis and the area of collagen in rats of the model group were significantly higher than those of the spironolactone group (P<0.05); The expression of ¦Áª²smooth muscle actin in hepatic tissue in spironalactone group was significantly lower than that of the model group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Spironolactone can inhibit the formation of liver fibrosis in rats. Spironolactone may prevent the formation of hepatic fibrosis through inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells. ......