[Effects of plumbagin on expression of TNF-alpha and PDGF-BB in human hepatic stellate cells activated by leptin].

Objective: To investigate the effect of plumbagin on the expression of TNF-α and PDGF-BB in human hepatic stellate cells(HSC-LX2) activated by Leptin.Methods: HSC-LX2 were cultured in vitro and stimulated by Leptin for 24 hours then treated with different concentrations of plumbagin for 24 hours,the expressions of TNF-α mRNA and PDGF-BB mRNA were determined by Realtime quantitative PCR,the protein expressions of TNF-α and PDGF-BB were determined by Western blotting.Results: The expressions of TNF-α mRNA and PDGF-BB mRNA of treatment groups were significantly reduced,especially in high dose group(P 0.01),and Western blotting analyses revealed similar trends in protein expression.Conclusion: Plumbagin may prevent the formation of hepatic fibrosis and its mechanism may be related to decreasing the level of mRNA of TNF-α and PDGF-BB and the protein of PDGF-BB.