Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To explore the toxicological mechanism of drug-induced liver injury(DILI) in rats induced by cantharidin(CTD).
METHODS SD rats were exposed to different doses of CTD(0.061 4, 0.092 1, 0.184 1 mg·kg−1) by oral gavage for 28 d. Liver index and serum liver function indictors were detected. HE staining was used to evaluate the pathological changes of liver. Then the proteins in endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS), autophagy, and apoptosis-pathway were detected by Western blotting.
RESULTS The liver index was increased in CTD groups. The ALT, AST, LDH, ALP and T-Bil were increased by CTD with a dose-dependent manner. Disrupted hepatic architecture and dilatation of central vein were observed after CTD intervention. The protein expression levels of GRP78, CHOP, ATF4, Beclin-1, LC3, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, and Bax/Bcl-2 were increased after CTD intervention. Molecular docking results revealed that GRP78, ATF4, and Beclin-1 could directly interconnect with CTD.
CONCLUSION CTD can activate ERS, autophagy and synergistically inducing downstream apoptosis in rat, providing a novel insight into the mechanism of CTD-induced DILI.