Pyrazinamide Induced Rat Cholestatic Liver Injury through Inhibition of FXR Regulatory Effect on Bile Acid Synthesis and Transport

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is an indispensable first-line drug used for the treatment of tuberculosis which may cause serious hepatotoxicity; however, the mechanisms underlying these toxicities are poorly understood. Cholestasis plays an important role in drug-induced liver injury. Since there were no previous published works reported cholestasis and PZA hepatotoxicity relationship, this study aimed to identify whether PZA can induce liver injury with characterized evidences of cholestasis and to clarify expression changes of proteins related to both bile acid synthesis and transport in PZA-induced liver injury. PZA (2 g/kg) was administered for 7 consecutive days by oral gavage. Results showed there were 2-fold elevation in both ALT and AST serum levels in PZA-treated rats. In addition, a 10-fold increment in serum total bile acid was observed after PZA administration. The mRNA and protein expressions of bile acid synthesis and transport parameters were markedly altered, in which FXR, Bsep, Mrp2, Mdr2, Ostα/β, Oatp1a1, Oatp1b2, and Cyp8b1 were decreased (P