Effect Of Blueberry On Expression Of Bcl-2 And Bax In Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease In Rats

Objective: By investigating the effect of blueberry on expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats,to explor the inhibition of blueberry on liver cell apoptosis.Methods: Forty healthy SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group,a blueberry group,a curcumin group and a model group.The normal group was given a normal diet,and the other groups were all given a high fat diet.The blueberry group was intragastrically given blueberry juice( 15 ml·kg-1·d-1),the curcumin group was given curcumin solution(50mg·kg-1·d-1),and the other groups were given physiological saline daily.At the end of 12 week, all mice were sacrificed.Model establish,liver cell injury and fat deposition were assessed by HE staining and oil red O staining,respectively.The level of alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), triglyceride(TG) and total cholesterol(TC) in serum were detected with an automatic biochemical analyzer. The contents of TG,MDA,GSH, the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) in liver tissue were quantified by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(Elisa).Flow cytometry was applied to detect apoptosis rate.The expression of B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2(Bcl-2) 、 Bcl-2-assaciated x protein(Bax) in liver tissue was detected by Immunohistochemistry,Western blot and RT-PCR. SPSS 17.0 was used for statistical analysis, P value < 0.05 was judged as statistically significant.Results: In the normal group, hepatocytes were found with a common radial array encircling the central veins, and no vacuoles were observed. In the model group, hepatocytes were diffused with vacuoles in cytoplasm. The degrees of vacuoles in cytoplasm were significantly alleviated in the blueberry group and curcumin group.Compared to the model group, the level of ALT, AST, TG, TC in the normal,blueberry,curcumin group were significantly decreased(P<0.01),the contents of TG,MDA in liver tissue were also significantly decreased(P<0.01),while the contents of GSH, the activity of SOD were significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared to the normal group,apotosis rate in the model group was significantly increased(P<0.05).Compared to the model group, apotosis rate in the blueberry, curcumin group was significantly decreased(P<0.05). Compared to the normal group, the expression of hepatic Bcl – 2 in the model group was significantly decreased(P<0.01), the expression of hepatic Bax was significantly increased(P<0.01), the Bcl- 2 / Bax ratio was significantly decreased(P<0.01).Compared to the model group, the expression of hepatic Bcl- 2 in the blueberry, curcumin group was significantly increased(P<0.01), the expression of hepatic Bax was significantly decreased(P<0.01), the Bcl- 2 / Bax ratio was significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusion:Blueberry has a protective effect on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice,and the mechanism may be associated with up-regulating the Bcl- 2 expression, down-regulating Bax expression, enhancing the body’s antioxidant ability to inhibit liver cell apoptosis.