Abstract:

Abstract:Objective
To investigate the effects of activin A (ACTA) and  follistatin (FS) in alcoholic liver injury in mice,and  to clarify the mechanism of alcoholic liver disease.Methods Mouse models of alcoholic liver injury were established.24,72,120,168 h after establishment were used as the time points,the serum ACTA and FS levels and liver function changes  in 40 cases of alcoholic liver injury mice and 40 healthy mice were detected with ELISA method. The  liver tissues of model mice and healthy control mice were stained with  HE  and immunohistochemical method to observe the  histopathological changes of liver tissues and expressions of ACTA and  FS.Results The levels of  serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and ACTA in control group at each time point did not change significantly;while in model group,the  ALT,AST and ACTA levels  changed at different degrees,of which ALT,AST levels at  24 h for the highest,ACTA had  the highest level at  72 h.The  ALT,AST,and ACTA levels at the four time points in model group had significant differences   compared with the corresponding control group(P<0.01).At four time points, the FS levels  had no significant difference between model group and control group(P> 0.05).The control mouse liver tissue almost did not express  ACTA,but positively expressed  FS.ACTA highly expressed in the liver tissue around the portal area of model mice.There was no significant difference of  FS expression in liver tissues between control mice and model mice.Conclusion ACTA and FS  have  different changes in alcoholic liver injury,and ACTA and FS system imbalances may be the important reasons of alcoholic liver disease and  liver fibrosis.

Key words: activin A;alcoholic liver injury;alcoholic liver disease