ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1633519
This article is part of the Research TopicApplications of Medicinal Plants and Their Metabolites in Fibrotic Disease: Novel Strategies, Mechanisms, and Their Impact on Clinical PracticeView all 8 articles
Fangchinoline attenuates hepatic fibrosis by regulating taurine metabolism and oxidative stress
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang university, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
- 2Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shaoyang University, Shaoyang, China
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Background: Hepatic fibrosis emerges as a pathological hallmark in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatopathies. Stephania tetrandra S. Moore is a traditional Chinese herb used to treat liver disease. However, the anti-hepatic fibrosis effect of Fangchinoline (FAN), an active ingredient of Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, has not been reported. This study aimed to elucidate the anti-fibrotic effect of FAN and to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: The DEN-induced hepatic fibrosis mouse model, primary murine hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and TGF-β-induced activation model of HSCs were used to explore the anti-fibrotic effect of FAN. The proteomics was used to predict the pharmacodynamic mechanism of FAN and follow-up validation assays were performed with in vivo and in vitro experiments. Results: FAN alleviated DEN-induced liver fibrosis in mice, reducing biomarker levels, slowing histopathological changes and inhibiting collagen deposition. FAN suppressed HSCs activation and its biosynthetic abilities of extracellular matrix. Proteomics was used to explore the mechanisms of FAN action which is related to the regulation of taurine metabolism. FAN reversed the DEN-induced changes in the levels of taurine and key enzyme that catalyze taurine synthesis. Additional taurine reinforces the regulatory effect of FAN on HSCs activation. Taurine could inhibit oxidative stress. Indeed, FAN reduced DEN-induced ROS accumulation, which may be associated with the Nrf2 pathway activation. Cleaning ROS with N-Acetylcysteine enhanced the anti-fibrotic effects of FAN. Conclusion: FAN can alleviate the process of hepatic fibrosis by regulating taurine metabolism and oxidative stress, which has an important theoretical value.
Keywords: Fangchinoline, hepatic fibrosis, Taurine, Oxidative Stress, Hepatic Stellate Cells
Received: 23 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yin, Lian, Wang, Chen, Liu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yange Liu, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang university, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
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