trans-chalcone ameliorates CCl4-induced Acute Liver Injury by Suppressing Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Abstract

Background Acute liver injury is a sensitive parameter for detecting liver damage due to toxic, viral, metabolic, and autoimmune exposures. Due to the response to adverse external stimuli and various cellular homeostasis, Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), Oxidative stress, and Inflammation have great potential for treating liver injury. Trans-chalcones (TC) is a polyphenolic compound derived from a natural plant with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory abilities. Here, TC was aimed to attenuate liver injury by triggering ER stress, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Methods A single dose of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) 1 mL/kg was administered intraperitoneally into C57BL6 mice to construct an in vivo NAFLD model, whereas AML12 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to construct an in vitro NAFLD model. The mice used in the experiment were randomly assigned to two groups: a 12-hour set and a 24-hour set. Forty-nine mice were randomly divided into seven groups, the control group (Group I), TC group (Group II) 10 mg/kg TC, negative control group (Group III) CCl₄, TC + CCl₄ groups (Groups IV − VI), mice were subcutaneously treated with (5, 10, and 20) mg/kg of TC for three consecutive days before the CCl₄ injection and the positive control group (Group VII) received 10 mg/kg Silymarin. After the experiment, serum transaminase, liver histological pathology, hepatic expression levels ERS, oxidative stress, and inflammation-related markers were assessed Results TC pre-treatment significantly alleviates the expression of ER stress, oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis in both in vivo and in vitro models of liver injury. TC treatment significantly reduced serum transaminase levels (ALT and AST), and ROS levels. The protective effect of TC on the liver injury mouse model was achieved by inhibiting hepatocyte apoptosis. Moreover, TC pre-treatment dramatically decreased the protein levels of ER stress indicators such as CHOP, Bip, Ero-Lα, IRE1α, PERK, Calnexin, and PDI when compared to the CCl4-only treated group. Conclusion TC exerts hepatoprotective effects against CCl₄-induced acute liver injuries in mice by modulating ERS, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Further investigations are necessary to elucidate the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the hepatoprotective effects of TC and to explore its therapeutic potential in clinical trials.