BACKGROUND AND AIM Improvement of gut microbiota may help in preventing the progression of cirrhosis. We supposed that Lactobacillus Plantarum (L. Plantarum) protects the cirrhotic liver through suppression of TLR4/ CXCL9/ PREX-2. METHODOLOGY Rats were divided into two groups. Group I, lasts for six weeks and Group II lasts for 12 weeks. Each group was subdivided into: naïve, Lactobacillus Plantarum (L. Plantarum), thioacetamide (TAA) and TAA + L. Plantarum. Liver function tests, α fetoprotein (AFP) levels, CXCL9, PREX-2 and TLR4 expression were assessed. Histological studies were performed. RESULTS TAA induced significant deterioration in liver functions and increased AFP. There was periportal cirrhosis, vacuolated hepatocytes, decrease hepatocyte parrafin-1 (hep par-1) expression, increase proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) positive nuclei and cytokeratin AE1/AE3. The PCR results showed significant increase in TLR4, CXCL9 and PREX-2 expression. Early administration of L. Plantarum significantly decreased the expression of TLR4, CXCL9 and PREX-2 together with improvement in liver function and prevented the pathological changes. CONCLUSIONS The cirrhotic complications induced by TAA are through activation of TLR4/ CXCL9/ PREX-2 pathway and could be prevented by the early administration of L. Plantarum.

中文翻译：

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TLR4 / CXCL9 / PREX-2途径参与肝细胞癌（HCC）的发展，并在Wistar大鼠中早期施用植物乳杆菌有希望的作用。

背景与目的改善肠道菌群可能有助于预防肝硬化的发展。我们认为植物乳杆菌（L. Plantarum）通过抑制TLR4 / CXCL9 / PREX-2来保护肝硬化肝。方法将大鼠分为两组。第一组持续六个星期，第二组持续12个星期。每个组再分为：原始的，植物乳杆菌（L. Plantarum），硫代乙酰胺（TAA）和TAA + L. Plantarum。评估肝功能测试，甲胎蛋白（AFP）水平，CXCL9，PREX-2和TLR4表达。进行组织学研究。结果TAA引起肝功能显着恶化和AFP升高。有门静脉周围性肝硬化，肝细胞空泡化，肝细胞parrafin-1（hep par-1）表达降低，增加增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）阳性细胞核和细胞角蛋白AE1 / AE3。PCR结果显示TLR4，CXCL9和PREX-2表达显着增加。早期施用植物乳杆菌可显着降低TLR4，CXCL9和PREX-2的表达，并改善肝功能，并防止病理改变。结论TAA引起的肝硬化并发症是通过激活TLR4 / CXCL9 / PREX-2途径引起的，可以通过早期给予植物乳杆菌来预防。