Diosgenin attenuates hepatic stellate cell activation through transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling pathway.
Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) plays a pivotal role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is considered to be the main stimuli factor responsible for the activation of HSC. Diosgenin is a steroidal saponin found in several plants including Solanum and Dioscorea species, and it inhibited high glucose-induced renal tubular fibrosis. However, the effects of diosgenin against hepatic fibrosis remain elusive. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of diosgenin on TGF-β1-induced HSCs and elucidate the possible mechanism of its anti-fibrotic effect. Our results demonstrated that diosgenin inhibited TGF-β1-induced HSC proliferation, reduced the expression of collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), as well as the expression of TGF-β receptor I (TGF-β RI) and II. Moreover, diosgenin suppressed TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad3 in HSCs. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that diosgenin inhibited HSC-T6 cell proliferation and activation, at least in part, via the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway. These results provide that diosgenin may have potential to treat liver fibrosis.
['Xie|Wei-Lin|WL|', 'Jiang|Rong|R|', 'Shen|Xiao-Lu|XL|', 'Chen|Zhi-Yu|ZY|', 'Deng|Xiao-Ming|XM|']
Diosgenin hepatic stellate cells (HSC) transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)