Aging is often accompanied by liver injury and fibrosis, eventually leading to the decline in liver function. However, the mechanism of aging‑induced liver injury and fibrosis is still not fully understood, to the best of our knowledge, and there are currently no effective treatment options available for liver aging. Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) has been reported to exert potent anti‑aging effects due to its potential antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory activity. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect and underlying mechanism of action of Rg1 in aging‑induced liver injury and fibrosis in senescence‑accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice treated for 9 weeks. The histopathological results showed that the arrangement of hepatocytes was disordered, vacuole‑like degeneration occurred in the majority of cells, and collagen IV and TGF‑β1 expression levels, that were detected via immunohistochemistry, were also significantly upregulated in the SAMP8 group. Rg1 treatment markedly improved aging‑induced liver injury and fibrosis, and significantly downregulated the expression levels of collagen IV and TGF‑β1. In addition, the dihydroethylene staining and western blotting results showed that Rg1 treatment significantly reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and IL‑1β, and downregulated the expression levels of NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4), p47phox, p22phox, phosphorylated‑NF‑κB, caspase‑1, apoptosis‑associated speck‑like protein containing a C‑terminal caspase recruitment domain and the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, which were significantly upregulated in the liver tissues of elderly SAMP8 mice. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested that Rg1 may attenuate aging‑induced liver injury and fibrosis by reducing NOX4‑mediated ROS oxidative stress and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

中文翻译：

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人参皂甙 Rg1 通过抑制 SAMP8 小鼠的 NOX4/NLRP3 炎性体改善衰老诱导的肝纤维化。

衰老往往伴随着肝损伤和纤维化，最终导致肝功能下降。然而，据我们所知，衰老引起的肝损伤和纤维化的机制仍未完全清楚，目前还没有有效的治疗肝衰老的方法。据报道，人参皂甙 Rg1 (Rg1) 因其潜在的抗氧化和抗炎活性而发挥有效的抗衰老作用。本研究旨在探讨 Rg1 在衰老加速小鼠俯卧 8 (SAMP8) 小鼠治疗 9 周后对衰老诱导的肝损伤和纤维化的保护作用及其潜在作用机制。组织病理学结果显示肝细胞排列紊乱，大部分细胞出现空泡样变性，通过免疫组织化学检测到的胶原蛋白 IV 和 TGF-β1 的表达水平在 SAMP8 组中也显着上调。Rg1治疗显着改善了衰老引起的肝损伤和纤维化，并显着下调了胶原蛋白IV和TGF-β1的表达水平。此外，二氢乙烯染色和蛋白质印迹结果显示，Rg1 处理显着降低了活性氧 (ROS) 和 IL-1β 的水平，并下调了 NADPH 氧化酶 4 (NOX4)、p47phox、p22phox、磷酸化-NF 的表达水平‑κB、caspase‑1、凋亡相关斑点样蛋白，含有一个 C 末端 caspase 募集结构域和含有 3 个 (NLRP3) 炎性体的 NLR 家族 pyrin 结构域，它们在老年 SAMP8 小鼠的肝组织中显着上调。综上所述，