Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin
Online ISSN : 1347-5215
Print ISSN : 0918-6158
ISSN-L : 0918-6158
Glycyrrhizin Inhibits TNF-Induced, but Not Fas-Mediated, Apoptosis in the Human Hepatoblastoma Line HepG2
Masahide YOSHIKAWAMasahisa TOYOHARASigehiko UEDAAkira SHIROIHiroshi TAKEUCHIToshimasa NISHIYAMATakatsugu YAMADAHiroshi FUKUIShigeaki ISHIZAKA
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1999 Volume 22 Issue 9 Pages 951-955

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Abstract

To determine the transminas-lowering action of glycyrrhizin (GL) immunologically, the effect of GL on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α- and Fas-mediated apoptosis was assessed using a human hepatoblastoma line, HepG2 cells. The HepG2 cells were resistant to TNF-α and anti-Fas antibody, but were rendered susceptible to TNF-α and anti-Fas antibody in the presence of antinomycin D (Act D), an inhibitor of RNA synthesis. The cytotoxicity induced by TNF-α/Act D or anti-Fas/Act D was accompanied by DNA fragmentation, indicating apoptotic death of HepG2 cells. GL partially prevented the apoptosis of HepG2 cells induced by TNF-α/Act D in a GL-dose dependent fashion. However, this protective effect of GL was not observed in the cytotoxicity of HepG2 caused by anti-Fas/Act D. Although the protection mechanism of GL, observed in a limited fashion against TNF-α-mediated apoptosis, is unclear, the present results provide an immunological explantation for the transaminase-lowering action of GL in the GL treatment of chronic liver diseases involving apoptotic hepatocyte death in their pathogenesis.

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© The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
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