Tricetin protects against liver fibrosis through promoting autophagy and Nrf2 signaling in hepatic stellate cells

The study aims to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of tricetin in regulating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation. We treated human hepatic stellate cells line LX-2 and freshly isolated primary mouse hepatic stellate cells (mHSCs) with tricetin, pharmacological inhibitors and siRNAs, western blot, immunofluorescence, quantitative PCR were used to evaluate the expression of fibrotic markers, autophagy levels and Nrf2 (nuclear factor E2-related factor 2) signaling. Herein, we demonstrated that tricetin strongly attenuated the proliferation, migration, lipid droplets (LDs) loss and fibrotic markers Col 1a1 (type I α 1 collagen) and α-SMA (α-smooth muscle actin) expression in LX-2 cells. Moreover, tricetin time- and dose-dependently provoked autophagic formation in LX-2 cells. Autophagy inhibition by pharmacological intervention or genetic ATG5 (autophagy related 5) silencing facilitated tricetin-induced downregulation of profibrotic markers in LX-2 cells. Additionally, tricetin treatment reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, promoted Nrf2 signaling in LX-2 cells and pretreatment with ROS scavenger NAC partially reversed tricetin-induced autophagy and enhanced tricetin-mediated HSCs inactivation. Nrf2 silencing partially reversed tricetin-mediated inhibition of α-SMA expression. Finally, utilizing primary mouse hepatic stellate cells (mHSCs), we demonstrated that tricetin also induced autophagy activation, repressed TGF-β1-induced LDs loss and fibrotic marker expression and pretreatment with CQ further sensitized these effects. Our study indicates that tricetin's actions may represent an effective strategy to treat liver fibrosis and help identify novel therapeutic targets, especially in combination with autophagy inhibitors. •Tricetin strongly repressed HSCs activation in LX-2 cells and freshly isolated mHSCs.•Tricetin-induced autophagy compromised tricetin-mediated anti-fibrotic effect in HSCs.•Nrf2-ROS signaling contributed to tricetin-mediated anti-fibrotic effect in HSCs.