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Seven Steps to Stellate Cells
Published on: May 10, 2011
Predictive toxicological effects of Artemisia absinthium essential oil on hepatic stellate cells
I I Barreto1, L R Gonçalves2, A F Corrêa2
1Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Campus Araraquara, Instituto de Química, Araraquara, SP, Brazil; Laboratório de Sinalização Celular e Expressão Gênica, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" - Campus Rio Claro, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biologia Geral e Aplicada, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Medicinal plants are important worldwide, considering their properties for treating diseases; however, few studies have evaluated their toxicological potential. Among them, Artemisia absinthium is frequently used to treat liver diseases, because its essential oil has several popular therapeutic properties. Based on this information, in the present study, we investigated molecular connectors of physiological effects of the Artemisia absinthium essential oil on human hepatic stellate cell line, LX-2, to explore the potential toxicity of the plant on liver cells. LX-2 is a cellular model to investigate mechanisms of liver fibrosis; then, to analyze the essential oil effects LX-2 was cultured under different conditions, treated or not with the essential oil at 0.4 μg/μL for 24 h. Next, fluorescence microscopy analyses, gene expression measurements, and biochemical approaches revealed that the essential oil reduced pro-fibrogenic markers; however, disrupt lipid metabolism, and cause cellular stress, by the activation of cellular detoxification and pro-inflammatory processes. In conclusion, the hepatic stellate cells incubated with the essential oil present an antifibrotic potential, supporting its popular use; however, the combined results suggest that the essential oil of Artemisia absinthium should be used with caution.
