Background/Purpose

Schistosomiasis is an important tropical disease caused by Schistosoma. Although the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis has been intensively studied, the choice of effective treatment is still inadequate. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of using Casticin to treat Schistosoma mansoni-induced liver fibrosis.

Methods

BALB/c mice were divided into three groups – control, infection, and treatment group. The infection and treatment group were percutaneously infected with 100–120 cercariae. Mice from the treatment group were treated with 20 mg/kg/day Casticin for 14 consecutive days to investigate the potential protective effects of Casticin. Mice were sacrificed and were used for histological, RNA, protein, and parasite burden analysis.

Results

Our results showed that hepatic fibrosis was significantly attenuated, as indicated by histology and reduction of fibrotic markers such as collagen AI, transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Furthermore, Casticin treatment significantly reduced worm burden. Anthelmintic effect of Casticin was also observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Conclusion

Collectively, our study suggested that Casticin may be a beneficial candidate in treating S. mansoni infection.

中文翻译：

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蓖麻毒素对曼氏血吸虫感染的BALB/c小鼠的抗纤维化和驱虫作用

背景/目的

血吸虫病是一种由血吸虫引起的重要热带病。尽管对肝纤维化的发病机制进行了深入研究，但有效治疗方法的选择仍然不足。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究使用 Casticin 治疗曼氏血吸虫诱导的肝纤维化的潜力。

方法

BALB/c小鼠分为三组——对照组、感染组和治疗组。感染组和治疗组经皮感染100-120只尾蚴。治疗组的小鼠连续 14 天用 20 mg/kg/天的 Casticin 治疗，以研究 Casticin 的潜在保护作用。处死小鼠并用于组织学、RNA、蛋白质和寄生虫负荷分析。

结果

我们的研究结果表明，肝纤维化显着减弱，如组织学和纤维化标志物如胶原 AI、转化生长因子 β (TGF-β) 和 α-平滑肌肌动蛋白 (α-SMA) 的减少所示。此外，Casticin 治疗显着降低了蠕虫负担。Casticin的驱虫作用也通过扫描电子显微镜观察到。

结论

总的来说，我们的研究表明，Casticin 可能是治疗曼氏沙门氏菌感染的有益候选药物。