Objective: To investigate the protective effect of ursolic acid (UA) on alcoholic liver damage (ALD) mice by observing the expression of bile salt export pump (BSEP) and sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) in mice after UA intervention. Methods: Eighteen 10-week-old SPF C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups (normal control group, alcohol model group, and UA+alcohol group). The mice were treated with intragastric administration for 7 weeks. The changes of body weight were recorded. The pathological changes of liver tissue were observed by HE staining. The serum total bile acid (TBA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were detected by microplate method. The expression of BSEP and NTCP protein in liver tissue was detected by Western blotting. Results: The average body weight of mice in the alcohol group was significantly lower than that in the normal control group (P＜0.05). The structure of hepatic lobules in the normal control group was intact and there was no inflammatory cell infiltration, while the structure of hepatic lobules in the alcohol model group was blurred, accompanied by obvious steatosis, and the NAS score was significantly increased (P＜0.05). Compared with the alcohol model group, after UA intervention, the damage of hepatic lobule structure in mice was improved, the number of fat vacuoles and inflammatory cells in hepatocytes was reduced, and the NAS score was significantly reduced (P＜0.05). In addition, compared with the normal control group, the liver index of the alcohol model group was significantly increased (P＜0.05), while the liver index of the UA+alcohol group was significantly lower than that of the alcohol model group (P＜0.05). At the same time, after UA intervention, the increase of TBA, AST and ALT induced by alcohol intake was significantly inhibited (P＜0.05). The results of Western blotting showed that compared with the normal control group, the expression levels of BSEP and NTCP in the liver tissue of the alcohol model group were significantly decreased (P＜0.05). After UA intervention, the expression levels of transporter BSEP and NTCP protein in UA+alcohol group were significantly increased (P＜0.05). Conclusion: UA supplementation can significantly improve liver damage caused by alcohol, and the mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of BSEP and NTCP protein expression, thereby regulating bile acid homeostasis.
GUO Shaolong
,
LI Nan
,
ZHAO Xue
,
ZHANG Wenlong
,
SHI Mengqi
,
GUO Tengfei
,
LIU Jiaxin
,
GE Na
. Ursolic acid alleviates alcoholic liver damage through bile salt export and sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide in mice[J]. Journal of Baotou Medical College, 2025
, 41(6)
: 1
-5
.
DOI: 10.16833/j.cnki.jbmc.2025.06.001
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