This study aims to investigate the potential of psoralen(PSO)in ameliorating intestinal barrier dysfunction and secondary liver injury in mice with ulcerative colitis(UC).Forty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned into the fol-lowing groups:control group(Con),model group(Mod),positive control group treated with sulfasalazine(SASP,200 mg/kg),low-dose PSO group(PSO-L,20 mg/kg),and high-dose PSO group(PSO-H,40 mg/kg).Ulcerative colitis(UC)mod-els were induced by freely drinking 2.25％dextran sulfate sodium salt(DSS)for seven days.During the experiment,the weight of mice and disease activity index(DAI)were recorded.Real-time quantitative polymerasechain reaction(RT-qPCR)was used to detect the expression of zonula occludens-1(ZO1),Claudin-1 and Occludin in the colon.Biochemical assay kits were employed to measure the levels of aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alanine transaminase(ALT),alkaline phosphatase(AKP)and lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)in the liver.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was conducted to quantify the levels of lipopolysaccharides(LPS),C-reactive protein(CRP),procalcitonin(PCT),interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α)in the liver.Western blot analysis was performed to assess the expression of Toll-like re-ceptor 4(TLR4),myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88(MyD88)and phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa-B(p-NF-κB)in the liver.The results showed that compared to the Mod group,after PSO treatment,the weight loss of UC mice was alleviated,DAI scores decreased,and colonic length shortening was relieved.The mRNA expression of ZOl,Claudin-l,and Occludin was upregulated.The levels of AST,ALT,AKP and LDH in the liver decreased;the levels of LPS,CRP,PCT,IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver decreased;and the expression of TLR4,MyD88 and p-NF-κB proteins in the liver was downregu-lated.The above results indicate that PSO can improve intestinal barrier function in DSS-induced mice and ameliorate second-ary liver injury by inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.
维普
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