Abstract
Background
Hyperlipidemia, a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by elevated plasma lipids in the blood, causes severe health problems, leading to fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Thymoquinone, the major active chemical component of Nigella sativa, reportedly exerts a vast array of biological effects. Various studies have reported that Thymoquinone protects against liver injury.
Aims
The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective effects of Thymoquinone against liver injury in hyperlipidemia-induced LDL-R−/− mice.
Methods
Eight-week-old male LDL-R−/− mice were randomly divided into three groups: a control group fed a normal diet and two groups fed a high-cholesterol diet or high-cholesterol diet mixed with Thymoquinone. All groups were fed different diets for 8 weeks. Blood samples were obtained from the inferior vena cava and collected in serum tubes. The samples were then stored at − 80 °C until used. Longitudinal sections of liver tissues were fixed in 10% formalin and then embedded in paraffin for histological evaluation. The remainder of the liver tissues were snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or western blotting.
Results
Our results demonstrated that Thymoquinone administration significantly reduced liver histological alterations by hyperlipidemia. Thymoquinone mitigated hyperlipidemia-induced liver injury as indicated by the suppression of metabolic characteristics, liver biochemical parameters, pyroptosis indicators, a macrophage marker, and the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway.
Conclusions
Thymoquinone is a potential therapeutic agent for hyperlipidemia-induced liver injury.
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Introduction
Modern living environments and excessive energy intake have led to a tremendous increase in various metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases [Limitations However, some limitations need to be noted. First, mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, we did not set a separate TQ group, therefore, the effect of TQ in ND group mice didn’t know. Second, we are not performed cell experiments to explore the protection mechanism of specific pathways of TQ on fatty liver injury. Further studies are needed to confirm this.
Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The study was supported by grants from China’s Dalian Medical Science Research Program (grant no. 1911107).
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**aoqing Zhang and Fei Wang designed this study; Wei Yao helped perform experiments; Yuhua Hao analyzed data and interpreted the results of experiments; Wei Yao prepared figures and drafted the manuscript; Yuhua Hao, Yuling Wu and **aoqing Zhang helped revise the manuscript; and Fei Wang provided the research funds. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All procedures were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and complied with relevant guidelines and regulations. Approval was granted by the Ethical Committee of the Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of the Dalian University of China (201902010).
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Wang, F., Yao, W., Yu, D. et al. Protective role of thymoquinone in hyperlipidemia-induced liver injury in LDL-R−/−mice. BMC Gastroenterol 23, 276 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-023-02895-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-023-02895-0